An Age of Valour
by The Lady of the Mists
Summary: Lydia Talon, deprived of a mother and raised by her Pokemon hating father, finds an injured Pokemon in her dead mother's garden and must find the courage to go foward. And in so doing, she finds friends and adventure beyond her wildest dreams.
1. Saving a Pokemon

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter One: Saving a Pokémon

If Lydia Talon could describe her childhood, it would be considered a lonely one. She was the only child of Rosemary and William Talon, so she didn't have any siblings, and she was deprived of a mother, who died when she was born. Her father hated that fact, so he hated her. More than that, he was so furious with her for stealing his wife from her that he was determined to punish her for that action.

She had only been allowed to go to school and come home. There was no one there who even so much as gave her a second glance, mostly because Lydia wasn't exactly normal. At first, she didn't seem so bad to the other kids, just another kid whose family was messed up. It wasn't like there weren't families that were more dysfunctional than hers in Rosewaters.

There was Mary Williams, whose mother ran off with her husband's younger brother and came back, pregnant, after he'd abandoned her. Her husband refused to have anything to do with the baby, so she was forced to live across town and raise her daughter by herself.

And of course, Andy Stevenson had three brothers and two sisters and their father had been accused of murder two years ago. The crimes, of course, were false, but they were caused by a powerful man, who was in too great a position to be accused. Andy's father was now in jail and his mother was left to raise her six children.

Theresa James had been abandoned by her parents when they ran off to tour the world. No one discovered the child until a month later and after she'd been locked in the dark. Because of this, she had developed a high fear of small, closed-in spaces and was afraid of the dark. She was quiet and jumped at practically everything that approached her.

Lydia's problems at her house were hardly problems when it was compared with the rest of the town, but that wasn't what pushed people away from her. It was the fact that she was abnormal. She had the power of speaking without words and could read people's mind. At first, she hadn't realised what she was doing and answered people's thoughts, not knowing that they hadn't spoken aloud.

But then when people started getting suspicious and asking her questions, she realised that what she did wasn't ordinary. After months of researching, she finally realised that she was psychic. She could talk telepathically to others and look into their minds.

That was only the beginning, though. As her power progressed, she found that she could sense things before they actually happened. A form of precognition, she assumed it was. Thankfully, people weren't as suspicious of this as they were of her telepathy. They just assumed that her reflexes were quicker than most people.

Lydia tried her best to hide her powers from her father—which wasn't that hard, considering how little he paid attention to her—but what she wanted most in the world she knew just by using them that he would never allow her to do. By early age, she knew the reason of his loathing of her, even though she didn't like, she understood it.

Her father had forbidden her to go anywhere near a Pokémon, because he claimed that they were "evil, vile creatures who will destroy the world the moment they get a chance." He'd even tried to make her fear them, but Lydia had fallen in love with them the moment she'd laid eyes on them. Now, she kept Pokémon magazines and guides hidden safely in her room.

People say that her story began the night she was born, but in reality, it started the night that was just like any other. She was lying on her bed, flipping through the forbidden material as she read by moonlight.

Her blue eyes scanned the pages as she studied the maps of the Johto region and its gym leaders. But most of all, she looked to the section on Pokémon found in the region.

"Umbreon," she murmured as she looked towards the page on Eevee's evolution. Of all of them, the Dark type had fascinated her most of all. Even though it didn't learn a lot of Dark type attacks, it was the only pure Dark type that there was available.

As she turned the page to look at the three Johto starter Pokémon, she could've sworn that she'd heard a sound in the backyard. Glancing up, Lydia frowned as she pushed aside the curtain. The night was a full moon, making it easy to see, despite the dark night and late hour. But she didn't see anything outside . . .

Without warning, she saw the shadow of something hiding in the garden, her father's prized possession. He would never allow anyone in there, even though it was dead and depressing. The flowers had long since lost their warmth and colour; the vegetables had stopped growing; and the weeds covered over the entire place. It had been her mother's, before she died.

Pushing herself up off of her bed, Lydia shoved the guidebook under her bed and hurried to her door, yanking her jacket off of its hook. She stepped quickly into the hall, pulling on her jacket as she hurried downstairs, listening careful for any sounds from her father's room.

Thankfully, the only sound that she heard was his snoring, which was evident even through the thick halls. Lydia let out a sigh of relief, but didn't stop moving quietly downstairs, not wanting to take the risk of waking him up. Something told her that this was something that her father _definitely_ would not approve of.

Opening the back door, Lydia stepped outside into the cool night, walking towards her mother's garden. She bent down to peer at whatever was hiding inside of the weeds and jumped back in surprise when she saw a pair of eyes looking towards her.

"Easy," Lydia said gently. "It's all right, I'm not going to hurt you. Are you okay, little fellow? Everything's going to be all right. You don't need to be scared of me; I'm not going to hurt you."

"Vee?" a soft purring answered her and the Pokémon slowly began to edge its way towards her. She gently stretched out her hand and it froze on the spot, fear evident in its eyes.

Lydia ignored this and felt sorry for it when she saw it flinch back. She gently rested her hand on its head and scratched it behind the ears. The Pokémon looked up at her in surprise and she scooped it up, pulling it into full view at long last.

It was an Eevee, the evolution Pokémon, that had been hiding in there. She held it in her arms, taking a close look at it when she realised that her white nightgown was starting to turn red on the chest, where she was holding the Pokémon. Almost immediately, she saw why; Eevee had several large scratches across its back and its front paw was bleeding freely. Lydia almost cursed when she saw the damage that was done to it. How had this happened? she wondered. Had it been attacked by another Pokémon or, she dreaded to think, by its own trainer?

Either way, she had to get it to a hospital right away. The Pokémon Centre in town would have its gates closed by now, but it was still opened to emergencies.

Casting a glance towards the house and knowing that she was going to be punished later for disobeying her father—one of his rules was never going out past nine—Lydia hurried towards the garage and yanked her bike out. Carefully placing Eevee in the basket, Lydia sped off down the road, her blue eyes wide and her light brown hair flying out behind her.

It only took ten minutes to get from the Talon manor to the Pokémon Centre in Willow Hill. But in those ten minutes, one Pokémon's life hung in the balance. Lydia was pedalling as fast as she could, glancing down at Eevee every few seconds to see how it was doing.

"Just hang on, Eevee," she told him, trying to reassure him that everything would be okay. "We're just about there. Just try and hang on a little bit longer, okay? Don't worry, you'll be all right." _I hope._

As she saw the Pokémon Centre swarm into view, Lydia sped up, trying to hurry. Skidding to a stop at the bottom of the steps, she gently lifted Eevee out of the basket and hurried up the steps, leaving her bike at the bottom without a second thought.

She banged on the door, which was locked. "Will somebody pleased help me!" she yelled through the closed door. "Unlock the door! There's a Pokémon that needs help NOWW!" She practically screamed the last word, but to her relief, a light came on inside. That was all that stopped her from breaking down the door.

"What is it?" the nurse in charge asked. "What's wrong?" She gasped when she saw the condition the Pokémon was in. "Hurry, there's no much time!" she said, quickly urging Lydia in. "Hurry!"

Lydia wasted no time hurrying into the centre, where Nurse Joy called for a stretcher and immediately had her Chansey helpers rush Eevee back to the critical care unit. "Be careful with him," Lydia warned her. "I don't think it likes being touched. He barely let me pick him up to bring him here."

"We'll do what we can," Nurse Joy assured her. She blinked in surprise. "It's Lydia Talon, isn't it?" Lydia nodded, surprised that she had recognised her—or that she'd remembered her name. "Don't worry, we'll take good care of Eevee." She pointed towards a room behind the nurse's station. "If you want to get out of that nightgown, there's some clothes back there. I'm sure there's some that will fit."

"Thanks," Lydia said weakly. Joy nodded once and left to go help Eevee, leaving Lydia to her very worried thoughts.

She did as Nurse Joy suggested and changed out of her nightgown and into a pair of jeans, a lilac t-shirt. Over this, she put on the jean jacket that she'd grabbed on her way out the door. It didn't matter that she was in her nightgown. Mostly, she just wanted to get her mind off of worrying about the Pokémon that was in the critical care unit.

It didn't take long for her to get dressed and she walked out to the lounge after she was done, sitting down and hugging her knees carefully. She shivered slightly, despite the warm night, and kept glancing towards the surgery room, where she knew that Eevee must be, fighting for his life. _Just hang on, Eevee,_ she thought desperately. _You've got to be all right. _For once, she prayed that her telepathic message reached the unconscious mind of Eevee.

It was just before dawn the next day when Nurse Joy finally came out of surgery, looking exhausted and weary. But when she saw Lydia jump up and rush over to her, she smiled reassuringly. "He's fine," she said, moving aside so that Lydia could look into the room, where Eevee was sleeping peacefully. "You did a good thing, bringing it here so fast. The surgery went well. He just needs some rest, now." She placed a gentle hand on Lydia's shoulder. "You should go in and sit with him."

Lydia looked up at her. "Do . . . do you know how he was injured like that?" she asked. "I mean, what did it look like?"

Nurse Joy sighed, rubbing her forehead tiredly. "He was definitely injured by someone—or something. Either another Pokémon or its trainer. But after what you said about him barely being able to stand your touch, I think it would be the latter."

"How do you know?"

"Basic psychology. When a person is injured by something, it takes time for them to build up their trust in it again. Sometimes, they never do. But Eevee seemed to be able to stand your touch. He must realise, now, that you're not going to hurt him. If you were going to, you would've done so when it was weak and helpless."

"Yeah, I guess so." Lydia sighed, shaking her head. "How can some trainers be so cold and cruel? How can they treat Pokémon like that? We're all living creatures." Nurse Joy smiled and placed her hand on her shoulders, consoling her.

"You can't right all the wrongs in the world, Lydia. Not by yourself. But you brought some good in just by saving this little Eevee. And by so doing, you may have gained yourself a lifelong friend." She smiled. "Go on, stay with Eevee for awhile, until it wakes up. I'll be in the office if you need me." She left Lydia behind, standing at the door, watching Eevee.

Lydia swallowed and stepped into the room, taking the seat next to Eevee's bed. She reached out and touched the Pokémon's head tenderly, not wanting to injure him further. Eevee started slightly at her touch, but he seemed to sense who she was and leaned closer into it.

"Who did this to you, buddy?" she sighed, her eyes closing slightly. It had been a long night and she was tired. She should've known better . . . her psychic power was never in control when she was exhausted.

Almost immediately, she felt her mind being pulled into Eevee's and images flew through her mind. A trainer with blond hair and cold eyes, wearing a haughty expression was yelling at Eevee, flourishing a Fire Stone. Eevee wailed, not wanting to become a Flareon, just to stay an Eevee.

_"You'll not disobey me!!!"_ the trainer screamed at him, snatching up a knife from his bag and throwing it at Eevee. This startled him so much that he couldn't avoid it. He squinted his eyes together, trying to block it out, but knew he could only wait until it was over. When his trainer finally gave up, he managed to get himself away . . . and found her . . .

Lydia gasped as she yanked herself out of his mind, her head reeling as she took a couple deep breaths, trying to calm down. Eevee didn't appear to have noticed her entering his mind, but she checked to make sure that he was all right, not realising that someone had just entered the Pokémon Centre, causing absolute chaos as he practically ran two trainers over as they started to get moving for the day.

"Where is she?" Lydia jumped when she heard his voice and practically froze when she heard it. "Where is that half-witted daughter of mine!"

Lydia knew, even as she heard her father's furious voice, that she was in more trouble than she'd ever been in before.


	2. Rebellion

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Two: Rebellion

It took the space of about two seconds for the doors to the recovery room to slam open and Lydia jumped to her feet, putting herself between her father and Eevee, her heart starting to race with fear. She had always been slightly afraid of her father, especially when he was angry, but this was beyond his usual temperament. He looked as though all common sense had gone from him and he'd lost some of his sanity.

"Just what do you think you're doing here?" he hurled at her, looking as though he were about ready to knock her senseless. "And with that thing?" he added, noticing the Eevee that was behind his daughter. "What do you think you're doing? I told you that you weren't allowed to go anywhere near those vile creatures! How _dare_ you disobey me!"

"He was hurt!" Lydia snapped, her own temper starting to rise. "Eevee needed a doctor otherwise he would've died! If I hadn't done something, then he would have!"

"Then it should have," her father said dismissively. "One less of those things to worry about."

Lydia felt as though she'd been punched in the stomach at those words. She'd known for years that he'd held a grudge against Pokémon that border-lined on hate, but she'd never imagined that he would be capable of uttering those words.

"How . . . dare . . . you," she whispered. "How can you be so cruel? How can you just stand there and pretend that a Pokémon's life doesn't matter? It does matter!" Her voice was starting to shake and she could feel tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "They're no different from us; they're all living creatures! They deserve to live just as much as you or I do."

William shook his head. "You're just as foolish as your mother. Those creatures are insignificant, not worth enough to be meddled with. They should just be dropped off the nearest cliff, the whole lot of them."

"You ought to be ashamed of yourself!" Nurse Joy had arrived, looking towards William in extreme dislike. "Mr. Talon, your daughter did a noble thing in bringing Eevee here. Pokémon are not slaves or insignificant. They are the balance of nature and all living things. We must all work together if we are to live in peace."

With a scoff, William glanced at her. "We can never live in peace," he said coolly. "History has proven that over and over again. Wars have almost destroyed people. Pokémon are just as bad, if not worse, then men."

"You're wrong," Lydia insisted. "If we just become friends with Pokémon, if we can just believe in each other, if we believe that there can be peace, then we can work towards a common goal." She took a deep breath, ignoring all signs that this was a bad idea. "And you know, I'm tired of trying to convince you otherwise. If there was any good in you, it died right along with Mom. I want to become a Pokémon trainer."

For a moment that contained an eternity, William stared at his daughter, something flickering behind his eyes as he looked at her, straight into her blue eyes. And Lydia stared back, unknowingly, in the image of her mother.

After a long, tense moment, William finally turned away. "Do whatever you want," he said coldly. "I'm sick and tired of having you in the house anyway. But hear my words, girl, if you disobey me, if you leave this place for those creatures, then you can never come back. Do you hear me? Never." The final word had the sound of finality in them.

Lydia felt her rage building and without her noticing it, things around the room started to shake slightly. Nurse Joy glanced at them, then at Lydia, frowning slightly, a thoughtful look on her face.

"You can't be my father," she snapped at him. "Not my real one, anyway. You haven't done anything right by me. First blaming for Mom's death—and trying to convince me that it _was_ my fault—and then trying to make me fear Pokémon?" She shook her head. "I can't believe that I'm even related to you, _Mr. Talon_." Lydia put emphasis on those words. "You're not my father and you never were."

"For once, I agreed with you," William retorted. "It was a complete lie from the beginning. You never should have had the name in the first place."

Feeling her throat constrict, Lydia didn't say anything as William walked out of the room, the doors slamming behind him. They all heard the doors to the Pokémon Centre follow them a few seconds later, along with furtive whisperings of the trainers who were in the lobby, having heard everything that went on behind the closed doors.

Nurse Joy sighed, looking towards Lydia. "Are you all right?" She nodded once, not speaking. "Well, then, I'm going to go make a call to a friend of mine, Professor Oak. He lives in the Kanto region. I think he'll be able to get you a Pokédex and send it right over. It'll register you as an official Pokémon trainer."

"Thanks," Lydia said, glancing up at her at long last. "Should I come and get you when Eevee wakes up?" The Pokémon, surprisingly, hadn't stirred despite the commotion that had been occurring around him. Then again, considering the amount of damage that had been dealt to him, maybe it wasn't so surprising.

"Yes, come get me immediately," Nurse Joy said, leaving Lydia alone with Eevee again. She sighed, sitting down next to Eevee, reaching out and touching his brow tenderly.

"Poor thing," she murmured as Eevee gave a soft yawn, turning onto her hand. "Not even _that_ could wake you up, could it?" She smiled slightly as she crossed her arms, leaning onto the bed. "But, you see, the thing is, you have to wake up soon, because I really would like to be your friend. Your last trainer didn't treat you too well, did he?"

If Eevee heard her, then he didn't make any response. But Lydia didn't know what else to do, so she kept talking.

"You know, I know what that's like. My dad didn't treat me too kindly either, so we have a lot in common. Maybe we can help each other get through it. We could travel together and make new friends. Human and Pokémon alike. Don't you think that'd be fun? And you don't even have to battle, not if you don't want to. I won't make you."

Lydia rubbed her tired eyes as she glanced at Eevee. "Just . . . please wake up soon, Eevee. I really want to be your friend," she whispered. Her eyelids started tugging and before she knew it, she was lying asleep on the chair, her head lying on her arms on the bed.

--

The first thing that Lydia registered was that there was a fair amount of commotion in the lobby beyond her when she woke. Not quite all the way awake, but she could still hear the sounds of people talking and moving around, too loud for it to be early in the morning. Lydia had to guess it was probably close to noon. That was strange, she thought sleepily as she slowly returned to the waking world. She rarely slept past ten and ten was a rarity in itself.

Once Lydia realised this, she noticed that there was something pressing a cold nose against her cheek, nudging her awake. She groaned slightly, blinking her eyes open.

All at once, she remembered what had happened the previous night, because Eevee squealed happily when he saw her awake. She smiled as she sat up straight, wincing slightly because moving so fast after sleeping all night in a chair isn't such a good idea.

"Eevee!" she said, thrilled that he was awake and attentive. "How are you feeling? Are you okay?"

"Vee! Eevee-vee!" The Pokémon looked better than he had the previous night and he actually sounded better as he spoke. If she hadn't known that just last night he had been in a serious life or death situation, then she wouldn't have guessed.

"I'll take that as a yes," Lydia laughed. "Oh, wait, I was supposed to tell Nurse Joy when you woke up." She began to get up when Nurse Joy's voice spoke up.

"No need." The nurse smiled at her as she approached. "I checked on him a few hours ago, while you were asleep. Eevee's much better, thanks to you. And I talked to Professor Oak and he's taken a great interest in you, I'll have you know. He'll be sending a Pokédex over as soon as he can. He just needs some personal information about you, so if you could just fill out these forms, I'll send them right over." She smiled. "Don't worry, I've got to give Eevee another check-up to make sure that everything's all right. If things look all right, then he should be free to go this afternoon."

"Okay." Lydia turned to Eevee. "So, how would you like to go travelling with me, Eevee?"

Eevee squealed happily, rubbing Lydia's arm as if to confirm what she'd thought was his reaction.

"All right, then." She grinned. "So, I'll get this paperwork done with and you go with Nurse Joy. I'll see you in a little bit. Be good for her, okay?"

The look that Eevee gave her clearly told her what he thought of that, but only gave her another rub on the arm before leaving with the nurse. Lydia smiled before leaning back in her chair to look at the paperwork.

Most of it was simple. Name, Lydia Rosemary Talon, daughter of William and Rosemary Talon. Born and raised on Rosewaters Isle, schooled there at the Rosewaters Academy. Age, thirteen, born on December 20th. But she paused on the contact information.

She no longer had any contact with her father, so she couldn't put him down. It wasn't like he would even care, if he was still talking to her. Other than her father, she only had one relative and that was her uncle.

Jack Talon was William's younger brother, but around the same time that Lydia was born and Rosemary had died, they'd had a falling out. Lydia wasn't even sure what it was about, but in the end, Jack had moved away to Cherrygrove City and Lydia hadn't spoken to him since she was about three.

But she was still his niece, wasn't she? That still had to mean something. Besides, from what she remembered, Jack was nothing like his brother. He wouldn't turn away when she needed something. With a small sigh, Lydia stood up and headed out to use the phone.

She had to call the operator first to find out her uncle's number and when she finally had it written down, she dialled it to ask him permission for her to use him as a contact.

On the second ring, someone in Cherrygrove City picked up. "Hello, this is the Talon residence," a male voice answered. Lydia's heart stopped with remembrance at the sound of it.

_"Don't worry, Lydia," her uncle told her gently as he hugged her goodbye. "No matter what happens, you can always come to me for help, all right? I promise you, I'm not abandoning you." _

As she got caught up in the memory, she forgot to answer for a minute and the man asked, "Hello? Is somebody there?"

"Yes," she managed to say. "Is this Jack Talon?"

"Yeah, who is this?" Jack sounded bewildered, not recognising her voice. But then, how would he? She'd only been three years old when he left, just a little kid.

"This—this is Lydia," she said softly, swallowing, her heart beating fast in her chest. "Lydia Talon . . . your niece."


	3. Family and Rivals

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Three: Family and Rivals

There was a long pause in which neither Jack nor Lydia said anything. She could hear him moving and pushing a chair out, undoubtedly sitting down in it. Finally, after a long and tense moment, Lydia ventured to break the silence. "Uncle Jack?"

"Lydia," he said in a strange voice. It sounded like he was too stunned to say anything more for a minute. "Well, this is certainly a surprise. How are you doing, kiddo?"

"Not so good," Lydia admitted. "Okay, I guess, but Dad and I kind of had a fight and he told me I couldn't come home."

"What?" Jack sounded incredulous. "Why would he do something like that?" he asked her. By now, he'd turned the camera mode onto the video phone and was looking at her worriedly.

Automatically, Lydia launched into an explanation of the previous night's events. Her uncle listened without interruption, but his expression was turning more and more disgusted by the moment.

"I never should have left you with that brother of mine," he said, shaking his head. "He never did like Pokémon, even when we were kids. But because everyone else did, he didn't really have a whole lot in common with other kids, so he got left alone a lot." He looked furious. "Do you want me to talk to your dad, kiddo?"

"No." Lydia shook her head. She didn't really want to settle her differences with her father. "No, I think we pretty much made ourselves clear last night, Uncle Jack. But, uh . . . see, the thing is, I'm gonna become a Pokémon trainer—"

"Really?" Lydia nodded, a smile spreading across her face at the very thought of starting her own Pokémon journey. She'd waited for years to do this. "Should've known you'd do that sooner or later. You've got your mother's spirit and love of Pokémon."  
"I do?" Lydia asked.

"Sure. She would always risk everything just to help them. Never thinking about the consequences for herself, always for them." Jack smiled wanly. "Not a day doesn't go by that I don't miss that girl. The world always seemed a little less bright without her. But I guess she left some light to continue it." He smiled at her.

Lydia smiled back. "Well, the thing is, I have to have a contact, in case something happens. And I don't see my dad too keen on wanting to hear about anything about me anytime soon. So—"

"Go ahead and put me down," Jack ordered. Lydia blinked. "I'm serious. Go ahead. I should've done this a long time ago for you. Your mom would've wanted this."

"Thanks, Uncle Jack."

"So, where are you right now?" Jack asked, leaning back in his chair. "The Pokémon Centre on Rosewaters Isle?"

"Yeah, Eevee's with Nurse Joy, finishing up the last treatment right now." Lydia glanced back to see if they were back just yet.

"All right, well, Lydia, as soon as you're done, take the ferry from Rosewaters to Cherrygrove. I'll call the ticket agent and explain the situation. We'll get you all started, all right, kiddo?" Her uncle was grinning wildly, looking as though he'd woken up from a bad dream to realise that everything was all right again.

"Okay." Lydia smiled at her uncle. "Thank you so much, Uncle Jack. I'm sorry I didn't call before—"

"Ah, don't worry about it. I'm guessing that idiot brother of mine wouldn't exactly let you call me, did he?" Lydia sighed. "That's what I thought. Don't worry, I'll take care of everything with William. You just take care of that Eevee of yours." He paused. "So it was an Eevee you rescued, was it? How'd he get so injured if your dad didn't get ahold of him?"

"I'm not sure, but I think his former trainer was abusing him," Lydia admitted. "Actually, I'm sure of it." She thought back to when she'd accidentally touched Eevee's mind and his memories had flowed through her.

Obviously, her uncle must've read something on her face because he smiled knowingly. "So, you inherited the gift, did you?" Lydia stared at him. "You've got powers, don't you? Things beyond the normal?"

"How did you know?"

"Kiddo, it's a family trait. I recognised that same look on your face that I had on mine when I first started fully developing mine." He sighed. "Your mom and I were sure that you would have the gift eventually."

"You knew that I was gonna have psychic powers?" Lydia whispered, gripping the phone so tightly that she was surprised that it didn't break in her hands. "Both Mom and you knew it?"

Her uncle nodded, a small smile spreading across her face. "Just like your grandmother," he answered. "And me." Something flickered across his face so fast that Lydia half-thought that she imagined it. Still, something hovered behind his eyes.

"What about my dad?" she asked, frowning slightly. If he had "the gift," as her uncle called it, surely wouldn't she have noticed it?

"Nah. He didn't inherit the powers that our mother passed down to us. People sometimes wondered why, but I think that the world's a safer place without him having it."

Lydia had to agree with him on that front. "So it skipped a generation with him?" she mused. Her uncle nodded once, but that shadow still remained in his eyes, but she ignored the intuitive feeling that he was hiding something. It wasn't like with her dad; her uncle would only keep something from her until she was ready to know.

"Well, Nurse Joy said that Eevee won't be released until this afternoon if there's nothing else wrong. So at the earliest, we should be there about tomorrow afternoon." There was only two ferries that left, one for Cherrygrove and the other for Goldenrod City, and both of the deported at eight o'clock in the morning and then eight at night. It was at least a twenty hour ride from Rosewaters to Cherrygrove. "I'll call and let you know if we're delayed, though."

"All right, I'll talk to you then, kiddo." He grinned at her just as Lydia heard Nurse Joy call her name.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw the nurse heading her way. "Oh, there's Nurse Joy, I gotta go," she said quickly.

"All right, see you soon."

"Bye, Uncle Jack." Lydia gave one last smile at her uncle and hung up the phone, disconnecting the call as she stood up, scribbling her uncle's information down on the trainer papers as she headed over towards Nurse Joy, who looked extremely relieved.

"There you are. Did you finish?" she asked, looking towards the papers. Lydia nodded. "All right, good, I'll send these over to Professor Oak right away."

"Could you ask him to send the Pokédex to my uncle's house?" Lydia asked her. "We're leaving for there as soon as Eevee's capable."

"Sure." Nurse Joy took her papers and looked at the contact information. "So, it's in Cherrygrove? Jack Talon . . . I haven't heard from him in the longest time." She shook her head. "Not since he left when your mother died, twelve years ago."

Lydia stopped, staring at Nurse Joy. "Thirteen," she corrected. "It was thirteen years ago that Mom died."

Nurse Joy frowned slightly. "Was it?" she asked slowly, looking perturbed. "Well, I suppose it's easy to get information mixed up. When your mother died, your father didn't want anything to do with his brother. They had a quarrel, finally ending with Jack leaving."

"What was it about?" Lydia asked. "I never found out what Dad and Uncle Jack fought about."

"To be honest, I really don't know," Nurse Joy answered, looking regretful. "He came here when you before you were born and then he suddenly left, after your father refused to let him have anything to do with you. He and your father had a furious quarrel about your mother and in the end, your father claimed that her death was Jack's fault."

"Uncle Jack's?!" Lydia was incredulous as she stared at him. "Why would he say that it was Uncle Jack's?" But then, she thought, he had blamed her, too, for her mother's death, his own daughter. Would he stop at blaming his brother for what he had lost?

"I don't know," Nurse Joy confessed. She sighed, moving towards the desk. "Not much is known about the Talon family your father married your mother and came here. Your mother's family grew up here; your father's didn't. You might want to ask your uncle about it when you go see him."

Lydia nodded, realising that the nurse had other things to do. Besides that, she probably didn't know very much. "All right, thanks," she said. "How's Eevee?"

"Just as good as new," Nurse Joy said, beaming. "That Eevee has a lot of spirit. He'll be a good companion for you. I'll be looking forward to seeing the two of you together in the Silver Conference."

She smiled as she walked away, leaving Lydia to ponder on her words. "The Silver Conference, huh?" Lydia muttered, considering it. "Who knows? Maybe you will. Maybe you will."

--

Lydia walked with Eevee at her feet, who jumped at practically everything, enjoying watching the groups of bystanders giggle with amusement. She couldn't help laughing herself, glad to see that Eevee wasn't permanently injured by whatever damage his previous trainer had done to him.

Her hands clenched together as she thought about the memories that she'd accidentally tripped upon. If she'd ever met the trainer that had hurt Eevee, she'd personally break his nose _and_ report him to the police.

Nurse Joy had explained that because they didn't know the identity of his former trainer and they didn't have any solid proof, there wasn't much that they could do about him. Unless something came up, then there wasn't much point in going into it.

After picking up the ticket from the ticket master, Lydia and Eevee boarded onto the ferry, which would take them directly to Cherrygrove City. Her uncle's house was located on the edge of town, so far out that most people forgot that it was actually part of town.

The ferry was full of trainers that were either heading towards Violet City or Route 45, which would take them to Blackthorn City, home of the Dragon Pokémon trainers. Quite a few of them were looking at Lydia curiously as they passed by her and Eevee as they watched the waves splash upon the sea, the Goldeen jumping with them.

As she watched the ferry pass by Cianwood Island, Eevee snuggled underneath her arm, watching it pass by longingly. "Hey, don't worry, little buddy, we'll be back again one day. What is it about this place? Do you have family here?"

"Vee!" Eevee nodded vigorously and Lydia smiled, glancing back towards the island. If she could've, then she would've dived off of the boat to help Eevee find his family, but they were already sailing away from it.

"Well, we'll come back one day, okay? I promise." She stroked Eevee's forehead gently and he purred slightly, relaxing against her touch, snuggling against her. Why he was able to trust her so fast, Lydia hadn't the faintest idea. Maybe it was because she was the one who rescued him that had something to do with it.

Lydia glanced up as dusk started to fall upon the horizon, taking day away and replacing it with night, and heard her stomach rumble. She blushed slightly and Eevee giggled at his trainer. "How about we go get something to eat, all right?" she asked. "You hungry, little buddy?"

Eevee jumped down off of the boat's railing and started walking towards the ferry's dining hall, Lydia right behind her. Pushing the door open, she inhaled the scent of various foods as she picked up Eevee and headed through the line.

"What'll you have, sweetheart?" the lady at the counter asked. She smiled at Eevee. "Hi, there. Aren't you a sweetheart?"

Eevee was hesitant, but allowed the woman to pet her. "Bit shy, isn't she?" the woman asked, glancing at Lydia.

Lydia smiled. "Eevee's a him," she corrected. "And he has been having a tough time lately." Allowing Eevee to jump down to go talk with a Flareon and a Chikorita who were nearby, Lydia glanced at the woman. "Apparently, his previous trainer wasn't the kindest of trainers."

Instantly, the woman understood. "Well, you've got a good heart, then," she told Lydia. "What can I get for you?"

"Uh, I'll take a fried chicken, Macaroni and cheese, and corn," Lydia said, scanning down the menu to see what was available. "And some Pokémon food for Eevee, please."

"No problem," the woman said with a smile, scribbling all of this down and handing a ticket to Lydia. "You're number 38, just come and get it when we call your number, all right?" Lydia nodded. "And take care of that Eevee of yours. He was lucky to find a trainer like you."

Lydia smiled faintly. "Thanks," she said softly, heading over to where Eevee was still talking with the two Pokémon. "Hey, buddy, who are you friends?" she asked, squatting down to greet them. "Hi, there. I'm Lydia." They both surveyed her critically for a minute before allowing her to pet them.

"Those are my Pokémon," a haughty voice remarked. Lydia glanced around as a girl approached them, looking annoyed at Lydia. "What do you think you're doing to them?"

"Just saying hello," Lydia said, standing up. "Eevee was talking to them, so I thought I should introduce myself."

"Whatever." The girl scoffed, tossing a sheet of blonde hair over her shoulder. "Just keep your Pokémon away from mine, okay? I don't need you messing up my team. Especially since we just got here and I want to get off here with a fresh start. Don't tell me that you're just starting out."

"So what if I am?"

"Then stay away from me," the girl said coldly. "I don't need you getting your freakiness over me. Jeez, you must not be a good trainer, if you're just starting out. What are you, eleven? Twelve?"

"Thirteen," she retorted. She already didn't like this girl and she was liking her less and less every second. "And who do you think you are, anyway? You don't know me."

"Thank goodness for that," the girl said. "And for your information, I happen to be the great Alicia Knightly. I've been in the top eight of the Indigo League and now I'm going to be the best here in Johto. So do yourself a favour and stay out of my way. Otherwise, it'll be worse. Come on, let's go, you two."

Without another word, Alicia turned and left. Flareon and Chikorita followed her. Lydia sighed and looked down at Eevee. "Well," she said, "I think we just made our first rival."


	4. Morning Conspiracies

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Four: Morning Conspiracies 

It was still early in the morning when Lydia woke up suddenly, her instincts on alert. The three other trainers were still asleep as she slowly climbed out of bed, pushing her brown hair out of her blue eyes tiredly, grabbing her jacket and slipping it on quickly.

"Vee?"

Lydia glanced around at Eevee, who had woken up. His brown eyes were looking in confusion at his trainer, who smiled and shook her head, patting Eevee gently on the head.

"Go back to sleep, Eevee," she told him gently. "I'll be back. Won't be a minute." But the Pokémon shook his head, jumping off of the bed and rubbing his trainer's ankles.

The amused trainer smiled and shook her head. "All right, let's go," she said quickly. She wasn't sure what it was, but she felt as though something were wrong. A chill travelled up her spine as she opened the door to the room, walking outside and quickly shutting it behind her and Eevee.

Lydia quietly walked down the hall, not wanting to disturb anybody if it weren't necessary. But of course, she thought tiredly, when had she ever been wrong when her psyche told her something?

Hearing voices coming from the dining hall, Lydia crept closer, trying to get a better idea of what was going on. Eevee stuck close, fear appearing in his brown eyes. Lydia bent down and picked him up. "It's all right, buddy," she murmured, stroking the fox Pokémon. As she held him, she tiptoed over to the door, easing it open ever so slightly as she slowly sat down onto the ground. The moment that she opened the door, the voices intensified.

"I don't care how you do," a male voice was saying. "I don't care who does it, I just want this ship taken over before it make port. These Pokémon trainers are young, easily swayed. And I more people working for me. Our main obligation is to rid the world of evil and to do that, Pokémon must be under our control." Lydia frowned; it sounded like the man who was speaking was doing so by a telephone. There were some in there, she knew, having seen a few trainers telephone home at dinner.

Not only that, but the man sounded vaguely familiar, like she'd heard him somewhere before.

"We know, sir, and we are doing the best that we can," a female voice said. Lydia's eyes hardened immediately; that voice she knew. That girl was the girl from earlier today, Alicia Knightly. "But many of these trainers are more stubborn than we anticipated. And most of them would never even think about using Pokémon's power for evil."

"Like that one girl that you were arguing with earlier," a boy replied. "The new trainer with the Eevee. What's her name?"

"It's Lydia Talon," a new voice spoke up. "She's on our way to Cherrygrove to meet with her uncle. Got a tongue on her, that one does. I'd hate to get on her bad side."

"Her, I don't care about," the man on the telephone said. "She you can get rid of. Both her and that worthless Pokémon of hers. But all the others I want you to bring to me. If you can't persuade them to work for me, my friends, then I'm sure that I can think of a few ways." Lydia could practically hear the smirk in the man's voice. She didn't like the way that he said that. "Perhaps the lives of their Pokémon will be enough to make them lifelong followers of mine. And after we have taken over this ship, we will start taking over Johto, piece by piece. And after that, the world."

"It will be done as you wish, sir," one of the boys said. "Before nightfall, we will be back at your mansion and you can deal with these trainers as you feel necessary."

Lydia's blood froze as she backed up, Eevee still in her arms. "They want to try and control everybody on this ship," she whispered. "We've got to get help."

"Eevee-vee!" Eevee jumped out of her arms and hurried back down the corridor. Lydia ran after him, wondering where he was going. At least, she did, until they ran into a trainer coming down the same hall.

"Whoa! Where are you going?" he asked as Lydia practically screeched to halt, trying to catch her breath. Eevee had been running so fast. "Okay, easy, just take deep breaths. What's going on?"

"Trainers . . ." Lydia gasped out. "In the dining hall. They're planning to taking over the ship. They were talking to someone on the telephone who said that he wanted more followers or something like that. He wants Pokémon trainers to follow him."

The trainer in front of her stared at her. "You serious?" he said incredulously. She nodded, still taking deep breaths. "Nobody in their right mind would do something like that!"

"He said something about threatening the Pokémon in order for them to swear loyalty to him," she explained. "And I think some would do _that_. They might do anything to stop him from hurting Pokémon. We've got to do something!"

"Okay, let's get the captain," he ordered, seizing Lydia's arm and hauling her alone with him.

Lydia ran with him, however, and called back, "Eevee, come on!" The fox Pokémon hurried back to her and she scooped him up into her arms, running along with the boy.

Glancing at him sideways, Lydia studied him critically. He had dark brown hair that framed a determined face and intense green eyes that sparkled like the sea. He was taller than she was, but seemed about the same age. However, he seemed to be a lot more experienced in training than she was. Though this was probably due to the fact that she was starting late.

"I think the crew quarters are through here," he said, steering her down a hallway. Sure enough, the sign ahead was marked "crew only." There were a few crew members who were starting to get started.

"Hey, you kids!" one of them yelled, spotting the trainers. "You can't be down here! It's off limits!"

"It's an emergency!" the boy retorted, glaring at them. "I think you'd better tell them what happened." He looked towards Lydia, who nodded.

"Yeah, okay, Jesse," she said, unconsciously using her psychic powers to find out his name. He blinked once, startled, but overlooked it due to the situation, as she launched into the story of what she'd heard in the dining hall not ten minutes ago.

By the time that she had finished, they had been joined by the captain, who was frowning at them, a bit disturbed by their words. "You're absolutely sure that's what you heard, young lady?' he asked, his tone hard. He was staring at her intently as she nodded, relieved.

"You believe me, then?" she asked. She'd expected to be ignored, to just been overlooked. But the captain smiled wanly and nodded.

"Of course I believe you," he said. "I know Alicia Knightly and I've known she was trouble since she was born. Her parents aren't much better, I'll have you known. Andrew," he said, looking towards a crew member. "Please escort Miss Talon and Mr. Turner to my office. I don't want them anywhere near the dining hall right now and we can't get them back to their dormitories without being seen. It's better if you two weren't involved in this," he explained. "Then whoever they're working for will be after you two in particular."

"I don't think so," Lydia said, shaking her head. "He said that they could dispose of me, that he wasn't interested in me."

"All the more reason for you to avoid being seen," the captain told her. "Everyone else, come with me."

Andrew looked towards them as the crew followed their captain. "All right, you two, come with me," he said, turning and heading down the hallway.

Lydia let out a deep sigh. "Looks like it's going to be a long day," she mumbled. Eevee snuggled closer to her as his trainer walked through the corridors.

--

It was around nine when the captain finally returned to his office, looking over at the two of you. "Success," he said cheerfully. "The people in question have been taken into custody and they'll be turned over to Cherrygrove police department as soon as we arrive. Unfortunately, we weren't able to trace the call to whomever it was they were receiving the orders from, but hopefully we'll be able to get answers from some of them." He glanced at Lydia. "You didn't happen to hear a name earlier, did you?"

Lydia thought back, thinking hard, but shook her head. "No, they just referred to him as 'sir'," she answered. The captain nodded. "They might not even know who he is, sir. He could be keeping his identity a secret even from his own followers."

"Possibly," the captain sighed. "But that's what we're going to figure out. For right now, though, the two of you need to go and get ready. We'll be arriving at Cherrygrove later today and breakfast looks appetising today. Our cook is serving her specialty: chocolate chip pancakes."

"Yum," Lydia said with a grin. Jesse, too, smiled.

"Run along," he said. "Take the corridor left and then go right when you reach the end. Staircase at the end will take you up to the deck."

"Thank you," Jesse said as he and Lydia left the room. "So you want to explain what happened earlier?"

"Hmm?"

"I wasn't going to say anything while we were both worried, but I'm pretty sure that I didn't say my name. But you knew it," Jesse accused her. Lydia sighed, looking away. "How did you know? What, are you psychic or something?" He meant it as a joke, but Lydia jerked anyway, looking at him.

His amused smile vanished and he stared at her. "You are, aren't you?" he whispered.

"A little," Lydia admitted. "I mean, it's not strong, but I can read people's thoughts and I've got some precognition power. That's it, though. Jesse, I swear, I didn't do it on purpose. Just sometimes I do it without meaning to. It just comes as second nature."

Jesse opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it. "Okay, but you don't do it all the time, do you?" He seemed a little bit freaked, not that Lydia could blame him.

"Not on purpose, no. I don't try to. People shouldn't go digging around in people's thoughts without permission," Lydia replied as they opened the door to the dining hall. Trainers were already in line and most of which were sitting down, eating. "You're not going to say anything, are you?"

"Get a lot of grief about it, do you?" Lydia rolled her eyes and Jesse grinned. "All right, I won't say anything. Who'd believe me, anyway?"

"Unfortunately, a lot of people," Lydia said dryly. Both trainers laughed as they received their portions of the chocolate chip pancakes and some Pokémon food for Eevee and Jesse's Pokémon. "So, where are you from, anyway?"

"Pretty far, actually. Ever heard of Alyson?" he asked her. Lydia frowned and shook her head. "It's a town over in Kanto, pretty close to Mt. Moon. I started out there and made my way through the Indigo League. Then I decided to come here and I just brought Ivysaur with me." He released the grass Pokémon and set the Pokémon food next to him, scratching his head. "I wanted to start it over like I started my Kanto journey."

"So I guess we're both starting out, then."

"Guess so. How about you?"

Lydia sighed. "Well, my dad wasn't exactly too thrilled with the idea of Pokémon training. The idea of it completely horrified him and ever since my mom died, he never let me do anything that I wanted. Which basically means that I've never done anything of my own free will," she added dryly. "I never knew her."

"How'd she die?"

"Giving birth to me," Lydia said softly, digging into the pancakes. "So I grew up with my dad on Rosewaters Isle, before I found Eevee here two days ago, wounded, and took him to the Pokémon Centre. He disowned me then, told me to do whatever I wanted."

"That must be rough," Jesse said, wincing slightly. "I mean, my dad walked out on us when I was a kid, but at least I still had Mom and my sisters."

"I've got my uncle," Lydia said with a shrug. "And I've got Eevee. That's enough." She looked down at her finished plate. "And maybe soon, I'll have some more friends."

"You planning on entering the Johto League?" Jesse asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"That is if Eevee's up for it," Lydia answered, glancing at the fox Pokémon. "What do you think about that, buddy?"

"Vee!" Eevee confirmed. He was thrilled with the idea, she thought as she smiled at his happiness.

"Well, then, maybe we'll face each other in the Silver Conference," Jesse said with a shrug.

Lydia smiled. "Perhaps."


	5. Cherrygrove City

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Five: Cherrygrove City

The moment that Lydia heard the announcement that they were approaching Cherrygrove, she practically bounced onto the deck, looking out towards the small town that they were approaching. Eevee squealed at the sight of it.

"There it is, Eevee," she said with a smile. "Cherrygrove City, our first stop before the adventure of a lifetime."

"Or at least the first stop to where all Pokémon trainers are going to start out at," Jesse responded, joining her. She rolled her eyes, swatting him on the shoulder.

"Don't you have anybody else to harass?" she asked dryly, tossing a sheet of her light brown hair over her shoulder. Eevee and Ivysaur were both talking to each other while their trainers continued to banter at one another.

"I could find some, but there not near as much fun," Jesse said with a grin. Lydia made a face.

"Don't make me find out some of your deep, dark secrets, Jesse Turner," she said threateningly. "I might just break my promise to not go into your head intentionally."

Jesse almost instantly lost his demeanour. "Oh, no," he said dramatically. "Not that! Anything but that! I beg you!" He did a façade of passing out and Lydia felt her annoyance disappear into thin air.

"So, any idea what the gym leader of Violet City's like?" she inquired, glancing at him as he straightened, stopping the performance . . . for the time being, anyway. Jesse shook his head. "Didn't think so. Don't know much about him, actually, or any of them. Dad never did let me listen to anybody talking about that stuff . . . if they would even talk to me. But from what I've heard, he uses birds."

"That does kind of present a problem," Jesse muttered. "Grass types are weak against bird types. Eevee shouldn't have much of a problem, though. We should probably check out Route 30, though, see what we can scoop up."

"Sounds like fun," Lydia said with a small smile. "You guys up for it?" she asked, looking towards the Pokémon, who both gave their affirmation. "All right, so first it's Uncle Jack's place and then it's on to Violet City as soon as Professor Oak sends over my Pokédex."

"Which shouldn't take more than a day or so," Jesse said with a shrug. "You're sure you're okay with my travelling with you?"

"As long as you're cool with, I am," Lydia told him. "Jess, I've spent almost thirteen years alone, I'm not planning on spending another thirteen alone as well."

"All right, well, let's see how you think after your uncle sees his niece's new companion," Jesse muttered as they moved towards the exit ramps. "Somehow, I don't think he's going to be so thrilled."

As they descended the ramp to the streets of Cherrygrove, Lydia looked around, trying to search for her uncle. She hadn't seen him since she was a little girl, only three years old, but the video camera yesterday had jogged her memory a little bit.

She did remember what he looked like. Sandy blond hair that hung continuously into his face the same way that hers did, though hers was a few shades darker, and the same blue eyes that she had. Vivid, blue ones, so unlike his brother's.

"Miss Talon?"

Looking around, Lydia saw a man walking towards them. "I thought that was you. I'm Peter Linton, I work for your uncle. Mr. Talon sent me to collect you and your friend. He's waiting at his house for you."

"He's expecting both of us?" Jesse asked, staring at the man. Lydia giggled slightly, shaking her head, and pushed Jesse towards the car Peter was walking towards. "How does he even know about me?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

Jesse opened his mouth, but upon reflection, decided that he really didn't want to know, and shut it. "Somehow, I'm starting to think that this is a really bad idea," he mumbled.

"Too bad," Lydia said seriously. "You're stuck with me."

--

"_This_ is your uncle house?" Jesse said as he climbed out of the car, staring up at the mansion that could easily fit two malls inside of it. "This is your uncle's _house_?!"

"I guess so," Lydia said dryly. "He must be doing all right for himself. Come on, let's not keep him waiting."

The two trainers climbed up the stairs, looking at every piece of architecture that they could see and pushed open the door to the Talon mansion, entering into the foyer.

"Whoa," Jesse said, leaning his head back and looking up at the painting that was on the top of the ceiling. "This place is more like a museum than a house. You sure that the old man didn't just drop us off at the wrong house? 'Cause maybe we need like a tour guide or a, uh . . . maybe some walkie-talkies. Or at the very least, a map. You think they got maps here?"

Lydia wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to them, her attention drawn to the man who had appeared at the foot of the stairs, a smile spreading across her face. "Uncle Jack!"

She was across the floor in the space of about two heartbeats, running into her uncle's waiting arms. He scooped her up and swung her around like a child, holding her tightly, but she didn't care.

"Oh, my gosh," she heard him whisper. "Lydia . . . oh, my . . . let me look at you," he said, pulling away so that he could take a look at her. "Oh, man. You look so much like your mother," he said softly, examining her face. Lydia smiled, taking a deep breath. "For a minute there, it was like I was thirteen and looking at Rosemary again. You look so much like her. Except for the eyes," he added with a small smile. "Those you got from me, kiddo."

Unable to speak, Lydia managed a small nod as she looked towards Jesse, who was standing uncomfortably with Eevee and Ivysaur. "Uncle Jack, these are my friends Jesse Turner, Eevee, and Ivysaur."

"How do you all do?" Jack said with a grin, walking over and patting Ivysaur and Eevee on the heads before looking up at Jesse. "Turner, eh? Any relation to a Jeremy Turner?"

"That's my grandfather, sir," Jesse said politely, looking extremely relieved that he wasn't intruding on something anymore.

"That's a good man. Helped me out with some things a few years ago," Jack said lightly. "You travelling with my niece, are you?" His voice had taken on a certain protective tone and Lydia giggled slightly at the nervous look on Jesse's face.

"Yes, sir."

"Uh-huh. Well, what exactly are your intentions?" Jack asked, stepping closer. Ivysaur and Eevee looked up at Lydia, who was grinning mercilessly, and motioned them over.

"Don't worry, guys, Uncle Jack won't hurt him," she assured them. "Permanently, anyway." Both Pokémon gave her doubtful looks as Jesse stammered an answer.

"I'm j—just fr—friends with her, sir, that's it," Jesse said, looking like he wanted to escape. Jack did look a bit menacing, Lydia had to admit. But for a tough Pokémon trainer to be scared of him was a bit much. Her uncle wasn't _nearly_ as frightening as her father was.

"Are you scared of me?"

Jesse nodded wildly. "Yes, sir."

"Good." Jack lost the intimidating demeanour almost immediately. "Then we won't have any problems, then." He smiled, clasping his hands together. "Anyone hungry? My cook made this delicious Italian dish for lunch I can reheat for you."

"Sure, that sounds good."

"Great!" Jack headed to the kitchen with Lydia and Jesse following him. He was going through the frozen pizzas in the freezer and both trainers stared at him in confusion. "Here's the thing: my cook is myself, because I don't want to hire one. I happen to like cooking and there's no point in someone else doing it when I'd prefer to do it. Besides, I prefer this kind of cooking a few cooks like cooking this kind of food. They think it's below them or something. So, what kinds of toppings do you guys like?"

"Cheese," Lydia answered.

"Pepperoni," Jesse replied.

Jack grinned. "And we got a half and half here, so here we go," he said, popping it into the oven. "By the way, Lydia, a package arrived for you this morning. It's sitting on the dining room table!" he yelled after her as she raced out of the kitchen.

Lydia ran to the dining room, which was right next to the kitchen, and immediately saw the package that was sitting on the table. She tore it open the moment she read her name on top of it and retrieved the brand new Pokédex that was lying in it.

With a smile spreading across her face, Lydia opened up and the unit clicked on almost the second that it was in her hands. "_This unit belongs to Lydia Talon of Rosewaters Isle_," it said cheerfully, her own picture being displayed on the monitor.

"Doesn't take much to make you happy, does it?" Jesse remarked as Eevee jumped up onto the table to inspect the contents of the box, sniffing it as Ivysaur walked up beside Jesse.

"What do you mean?" Lydia asked, glancing up to look at the other trainer standing in the doorway. Jesse smirked and glancing back at where they both knew Jack was listening. "Oh, come on, he wouldn't have hurt you. Much," she added grinning.

"You enjoyed that," Jesse accused her. She shrugged, trying to look as innocent as she possibly could. He shook his head, sighing. "Okay, as much fun as it's been being harassed by your uncle, you want to head out of here tomorrow morning?"

Lydia looked at him, then glanced at where her uncle was standing, listening to every word. He winked at her before heading back to the kitchen. Although he might give Jesse a bit of trouble, her uncle approved of the boy she was travelling with.

"Yeah, I think tomorrow sounds good," she said with a smile. "Bright and early, okay?"


	6. An Early Morning Present

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Six: An Early Morning Present

It was early in the morning when Lydia woke up, Eevee sleeping soundly beside her. With a small sigh, she turned over on the bed, stroking the sleeping Pokémon gently as she moved aside her blankets, trying not to wake Eevee, and headed over to the window, staring out of the mansion towards Cherrygrove City, a few miles away. Despite the short distance, it looked so much further.

With a small sigh, Lydia grabbed her clothes and headed off to the bathroom to get dressed. She donned the same clothes she'd been wearing since she left Rosewaters Isle. Dark blue jeans, lilac shirt, and the grey sweatshirt jacket. Brushing out her brown hair, Lydia stared at her reflection for a moment.

The girl that was staring back at her hardly looked like herself. She was still the same Lydia Talon, but she had changed. Not her physical appearance, but her emotional one. It wasn't too long ago that she had quietly accepted whatever happened to her, never trying to change things for herself. But things had changed, things had happened to her.

Eevee had happened to her and she would never forget that. The little Pokémon had earned himself a place in Lydia's heart that no one could replace. Just as she was sure that Eevee would never forget the act of kindness that Lydia had provided for him, Lydia would never forget what Eevee had done for her. He had made her stand up for herself and what she believed in, helped her stand up to her father, the one person that she'd always been afraid of. And, however unintentionally, he had helped her escape from the place that she had always wanted to leave. That made him the best friend that she could have ever asked for.

"I'll say."

Lydia jumped when she heard her uncle's voice and she peered around at Jack as she opened the door to the bathroom. "I didn't hear you come in," she said, embarrassed.

"How could you hear anything when you were thinking so loudly?" Jack teased. "Come on downstairs, breakfast is ready and I want to have a little talk with you."

"Oh, boy," Lydia joked as she left the bathroom, letting Eevee sleep in as she followed her uncle down to the kitchen. "This isn't about Jesse, is it?"

"Nah, I've got something here for you," he replied with a smirk. "Though promise me that you're not going to do something crazy. You're too young for stuff like that."

"Uncle Jack, I'm thirteen."

"Exactly," Jack retorted, looking exasperated. "That's too young to be involved romantically with somebody, even if it does work out. But if it doesn't, you don't want to get your heart broken. Trust me, that part really sucks."

"I'm not even thinking about that! Jeez!" Lydia muttered as she shook her head, sitting down across from her uncle.

"Well, good." Jack grinned as he stretched out his hand. The drawer to a cabinet automatically opened and Lydia watched as a box rose from it and flew straight into her uncle's waiting hand.

"Now, that's cool," Lydia remarked as the drawer shut itself again. Jack looked towards his niece with an amused smile. "How long did it take you to learn how to control stuff like that?" she wanted to know, wondering how long it would take her to control her own psyche.

Jack winced slightly. "About twenty years," he answered. "Believe me, it's no picnic, Lydia. And it's a gift few would wish upon themselves. But the gift chooses the person, I think. And it only chooses those select few who would use their gift with responsibility."

"What?"

"Haven't you ever heard the expression, 'with great power comes great responsibility'?" her uncle asked. She nodded. "Well, you have _got_ to remember that. This power also comes with responsibility. You have to learn to be mature with these gifts. They can harm you and others, if used carelessly."

Lydia nodded quietly, thinking back to her old life. If her father ever found out that his daughter was psychic, she was scared of what he might have done. "I know," she whispered.

"Okay," Jack said. "But it's up to you to learn your strengths and weaknesses with the gift. It's different with every person. You never know what you can handle. And you can't do the big things all at once, kiddo. Work with it gradually, until you master it. Sometimes, doing it all at once can kill you. Trust me, I've seen it happen." A faraway look appeared in his eyes and she studied her uncle.

"What was Mom like?"

Jack glanced up and, seeing the desperate look on her face, let out a deep sigh. "She was . . ." he began, looking hesitant. "Very beautiful. And kind and caring. You would never find anyone else like her in the world." A dreamy look came across his face. "She would always go out of her way to help the weak and oppressed, anyone who needed it. It was one of her greatest gift, but it some ways it may have been her undoing. She never asked for anything for herself, always for others." He paused. "Rosemary was quick-tempered, though. Everyone learned quickly that you did not want to get on her wrong side, because when she lost it, she was likely to crush mountains with her ferocious temper." He smiled. "And she was one of the best Pokémon trainers in Johto. A fire master, she was."

"Fire master?"

"Yeah," Jack agreed. "She had a lot of fire types, but her first choice was her Cyndaquil. That little guy had a lot of spirit, just like Rosemary did. He was her first choice. Eventually, he evolved into Quilava and then Typhlosion later on. But those two were close." He closed his eyes. "Just like you and Eevee will be with your own Cyndaquil."

Lydia stared at him, bewilderment in her eyes as Jack smiled at her. "You can see the future?"

"More like sense it," he responded as he pushed the box towards her. "Anyway, this is yours. Your mom wanted you to have it, when you were old enough. But your dad wouldn't allow it. Figured you'd follow your Uncle Jack on one of those 'fool Pokémon journeys' like your mother did."

She accepted the small black box that Jack handed to her, turning around and opening it on the hinges. Almost instantly, she gasped at the sight that met her eyes. Inside the box was an oval locket made of silver with a long chain that it hung on.

Hands trembling, she lifted it out, opening it up to reveal a small picture of a woman with smiling dark eyes that seemed to shine through the photo. Her dark hair was a few shades darker than Lydia's, but it still framed her face the same way.

"Mom?" she whispered, staring down at the photo. Never once had she seen a photograph of her mother. Looking up at her uncle, she saw him smiling at her and nodded. "This is beautiful."

"Here," Jack said, taking the necklace and fastening the locket around her neck. She grasped it tightly. "Keep her close to you this way, kiddo. This way, she'll be with you until the end of time."

Lydia nodded as she stared down at the locket as it lay in the palm of her hand. "Uncle Jack?" she said softly. "Why did Dad hate me so much? What did I do to make him . . . deprive me of my freedom?"

Her uncle sighed, looking older than his years for a moment. "Lydia, I wish I could answer that, but I've always been a firm believer that the truth will come to us when we are ready to hear it. Even if the truth comes from an unlikely source, we'll find it when we are ready, not only when we think that we are."

Looking helplessly at him, Lydia nodded once. "But when will that be?" she asked. "When will I know?"

"That's for fate to decide," Jack replied solemnly. "And you never know what her plans are." Lydia smiled. "Now, you'd better go get ready. A Pokémon trainer is always on the move."

"You're sure you're okay with me leaving straight away?" Lydia wanted to know, biting her lip.

"Yeah," Jack said with a smile. "As long as you keep calling so I can hear the voice of my favourite niece and keep me updated on where you're going and what's going on, I'll be happy." Lydia smiled as he ruffled her hair affectionately, trying not to laugh.

"I'm your _only_ niece," she reminded him.

"Well, it's not my fault you've got a severe lack of competition," Jack said, feigning innocence. "Go on, get a move on, kiddo."

Lydia smiled at her uncle before rising and heading back up the stairs. Once she reached her bedroom—which her uncle had decorated just for her—she picked up the jean backpack that she'd brought with her, filling it with potions and antidotes and other necessities that she and Jesse had bought yesterday at the Pokémart.

Eevee woke up when she was packing and jumped up, greeting his trainer affectionately. Lydia smiled as she pet him, glancing out the window. "This is it, Eevee," she said softly. "We're on our way to entering a much bigger and stranger world than one I'm used to."

But everything would turn out okay, though, she thought. She had no doubt about that. For the first time in her life, she had friends and family that she could turn to. And most of all, she had something to look forward to, something that would excite her and make her look forward to the next day. Every day was going to be a new adventure, a new experience, and a destiny waiting to be discovered.

She smiled. "And so it begins," Lydia whispered as she felt an eerie presence around her. She knew, without seeing the ghost, that it was her mother, telling her that everything would be all right now.

And she knew that her mother was right.


	7. New Pokemon

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Seven: New Pokémon

Lydia watched Jesse as he pushed his way through the grass to her, looking disappointed. "Nothing but a bunch of Caterpie and Bellsprout around here," he complained.

"You're not the least bit concerned that we're completely lost?" she asked him. Jesse raised an eyebrow.

"We are not lost."

"Listen, if you don't know where you are at, then you are lost," Lydia said, stressing on each word. She rolled her eyes. "Why is it that men never stop for directions?" Getting to her feet, she swung her bag onto her shoulder, heading over to find a clearing in the wooded area.

"Where are you going?" Jesse asked, grabbing his own bag and following her. "You're not seriously going to try and figure out where we're at, are you? It's gonna be dark soon."

"I know that, genius, which is why I'm going to try and make up camp for us," Lydia retorted. "Go look at the Caterpie some more, okay?" Jesse rolled his eyes and stalked away.

Letting out a sigh, Lydia started gathering up logs and making a fire as darkness started to fall on the horizon. By the time that darkness had fallen, Lydia had gotten camp already set up.

"Jess?" Lydia called, looking around for him. "Jesse, where are you?" Worry started to heighten in her; what if he had gotten lost on his way back here and something had happened to him? It was pretty dark and what if he couldn't see anything and tripped over something. He could be unconscious or worse . . . "JESSE!"

Before she could even try and go look for him, Lydia heard something approach the fire. Turning around, she saw a small blue creature drinking from the stream that she'd set up next to. "What's that?" she muttered, reaching for her Pokédex.

"_Poliwag, the tadpole Pokémon. This Pokémon seems better equipped for water than land. Unable to balance itself without arms, it uses powerful water attacks on opponents._"

"Cool," Lydia said, returning the Pokédex to her pocket. "Looks like we're gonna take our first step on our journey. Eevee, go!"

Almost immediately, Eevee sprung into action and sprung towards the water Pokémon, tackling it. Poliwag, startled, fell backwards against the water. When it recovered, it unleashed a bubble attack.

"Dodge it and use quick attack!" Lydia called. Eevee obeyed and hit Poliwag head on. "Pokéball, go!"

She threw the Pokéball towards the unconscious Poliwag, sucking him into it. The ball dropped onto the ground and a light emerged from it as it shook madly. Holding her breath, Lydia waited as the light faded, signalling that the Pokémon had been successfully captured.

"YES!" Lydia swung Eevee around, who squealed happily, and hurried over to pick up her new Pokémon. "We did it! We've got a new friend. And speaking of friends . . ." She looked around for Jesse and saw him coming back.

"There you are!" Lydia exclaimed, standing up and placing her hands on her hips. "I was getting worried; where have you been?" Then she noticed that he had an extra Pokéball attached to his belt and looked at him. "What did you catch?"

Jesse threw the Pokéball and a Gastly appeared in front of her, circling around the trainer. "I've always wanted a ghost, plus he might be able to beat up those birds real good."

"How do you know he's not a she?" Lydia wanted to know as she pet Gastly on the head. "Hi, there."

"Experience," Jesses said lightly as he noticed her Pokéball. "How did you do?"

"Poliwag, come on out!" Lydia threw the Pokéball and with a burst of light, Poliwag appeared in the campground, looking around at the group. "Come on and meet everybody." She looked towards Jesse as the Pokémon started to get acquainted. "So is that a boy Poliwag or a girl?"

"She's a her," Jesse replied. "The tail on the females are a bit longer than the males, see?" He indicated Poliwag's tail, which was slightly longer than she had seen on the Pokédex.

Lydia made a face. "Okay, so you are good." She smiled slightly as she made her way over to the fire. "Think you can go get some stuff for me to make a decent meal with?"

"No problem. I saw some berries on my way back here. Won't take me ten minutes." Jesse stood up. "Anybody want to come get some berries with me!" Ivysaur and Gastly, though reluctant to leave Eevee and Poliwag behind, left with their trainer.

Turning towards her own Pokémon, Lydia asked, "So how do you guys feel about beating up some birds when we get to Violet City?" Poliwag immediately looked happy and Eevee jumped into his trainer's lap. This, however, seemed to made Poliwag slightly unhappy as she turned away.

"Come over here, you," Lydia ordered. Poliwag turned towards her and walked over. "There's plenty of room for both of you," she said with a smile, allowing Poliwag to join Eevee on her lap. "Plenty of room for both of you and many more friends."

--

_"Lydia . . ." a woman's voice called through the darkness. "Lydia, where are you? Where are you, my darling?" Her voice echoed slightly as Lydia looked around, searching through the mists. _

_"Mom?" she asked, desperation in her voice. She tried to search, tried to find the owner of the voice that was her mother's, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Mom!" _

_"You must use your powers, Lydia . . . find out the truth . . . and why things happened the way that they did . . ." her mother's voice was all around her and yet nowhere near. They were parted by the mists, her dead mother unable to been seen by her still living daughter. _

_"What truth?" _

_"Only when it is essential for you to know will you know what truth that is. When you are ready, you will find out." _

_"Ready for what?" Lydia was desperate for answers, not understanding what was going on. Was this reality or a dream? Vision or truth? Fact or fiction? Or just a figment of her imagination? _

_"When you can answer that question for yourself, you will be ready," her mother replied. "Go back to living, my child. There are people waiting for you there . . ." As Lydia tried to find her again, the mists slowly wrapped around her even more closely, taking the young Pokémon trainer back to the land of the living._

"Mom?" Lydia woke up by her own call, breathing heavily as she stared up at the sky. The sun was already trickling through the trees onto the trainer and her friends.

Glancing over at Jesse, she saw he was fast asleep in his sleeping bag. He looked so peaceful while he was asleep, she thought, like a little child. As though he felt someone watching him, Jesse's eyelids fluttered open and he blinked at Lydia.

"Are you crazy?" he grumbled. "Don't you know better than to hang over people first thing in the morning. It could cause severe wake-up problems." He made a face at her, pushing himself up off of the ground with a groan. "What are you doing up so early anyway?"

"Dude, it's eight o'clock."

"Exactly my point, it's still night," he complained, rubbing his eyes against the sunlight.

"Except the sun is shining, declaring that it is day," Lydia responded as Eevee started to wake up. Petting him gently, Lydia looked over at Jesse. "Look, I would actually like to attempt to get to Violet today, so can please just get going already. We've already lost a decent amount of daylight already."

"Lydia—"

"Jesse," she mimicked him. "Get up. Now. Or I'll see if I'll have Poliwag hit you with a water gun."

"Does she even know water gun?" Jesse wanted to know. Still, he gave up arguing with her as he pushed his blankets off of him. Eevee was highly amused by their bantering as Lydia wrapped up her blankets, folding them and putting them into her bag.

"She knows bubble," Lydia retorted, giving him an icy look. "Come on, let's get a move on, otherwise we're not going to stop for lunch." That got his attention as he scrambled up, moving as quickly as he could as Lydia cut up the remaining berries from the night before, making sure there was an equal amount for all of them.

After a quick breakfast, the group started heading west towards Violet City. Maybe it was because they were working with dark the night before, but Lydia thought that it was a whole lot easier to find it than it had been yesterday.

"It can't be too much further, there's Dark Cave there," Jesse said, glancing towards the cave entrance to the complete pitch black cave. He looked over at Lydia. "Want to check it out?"

"Except for the fact that we have no flashlights or anything to help us find our way in a pitch black cave," Lydia replied. "I'm not too keen on losing my way in that thing. Let's save it for when we're properly equipped for searching through, okay?"

Jesse rolled his eyes. "Honestly, Lydia, where is your sense of adventure?" he said dramatically.

"Excuse me," Lydia said indignantly. "I have a sense of adventure, Jesse . . . whatever your middle name is Turner, but I'm not crazy enough to think that I'm not going to get lost in the middle of a dark cave." She folded arms across her chest.

He smirked. "No way am I going to give you that kind of information," Jesse informed her. "You'd just use it for your own advantage." Lydia stuck her tongue out at him, which he returned before turning away to sulk for a couple of minutes.

"How long are you going to keep up this pretend anger?" Lydia inquired after a couple of minutes.

"Oh, until we reach Violet," Jesse answered.

"Great, 'cause we're there," Lydia said, grinning. She pointed up ahead. They could both easily see the sign that said "Violet City, the City of Nostalgic Scents." It had taken them a good week, but they had finally managed to make it to Violet.

"So how long are we gonna stick around this town?" Jesse asked as they made their way to the Pokémon Centre.

"Long enough to take down some birds," Lydia said with a grin. She picked Eevee up and blinked when she saw Nurse Joy at the counter. "What the heck . . ." she muttered.

Picking up on her confusion, Jesse smiled at the nurse as she looked up at them. "Hi. Just a quick check-up for both of ours, please."

"Sure, no problem," Nurse Joy said as she took the four Pokémon. "It won't take long. Go ahead and head for the kitchen if you want. They've already started serving dinner."

"Thank goodness, I'm starved," Jesse sighed as he headed towards the kitchen, Lydia right behind him.


	8. The Bird Gym

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Eight: The Bird Gym

It was half past nine the next morning when Lydia and Jesse headed out into Violet City. The town was already bustling with commotion as they asked for directions to the gym.

"Just go north," the man they asked told them, pointing. "It's a big building with the Pokéball sign out front. You can't miss it. If you hit the Tin Tower, then you've gone too far. Double back. It's right next to Earl's Pokémon Academy."

"Thank you," Lydia said politely. The man nodded and continued on his way as the two trainers headed up the way that he had instructed. "Okay, so what was this Pokémon Academy that he was talking about?"

"Probably one of those crash-course places. You ace tests and you get a badge, no real work actually made," Jesse said, scowling. "There's too few of them that actually make it to the Leagues and none of them make it through the preliminaries."

"Seriously?" Lydia asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Well, maybe some of them, but not one has ever made it to the third round," Jesse admitted, softening his temperament on the place. "There's a couple that are a couple of decent trainers, but most of them never put any real work into training."

"Doesn't sound like you're too fond of them."

Jesse glanced at her sharply. "I was there, once," he said coldly. "And I hated every minute of it. My great-uncle put me into it, telling my mother that it was better than my going off on my own. She was too worried about me leaving, anyway that she agreed. After about six months of it, I left and told my mother I wasn't going back. She was furious with me. Still is, as a matter of fact." His gaze was hard. "I can't even contact my sisters to talk to them. My mother won't let me. She hangs up whenever I call." He sighed and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Jess." Lydia wrapped an arm around him, trying to comfort him. Eevee looked equally worried as she rubbed Jesse's ankles tenderly.

Jesse smiled weakly. "Thanks, Lydia. And thank, Eevee," he added, reaching down and stroking the fox Pokémon gently. "Means a lot."

"I also meant, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry," Lydia said quietly. Jesse shook his head, waving her off.

"Forget about it. You would've found out eventually. Besides, friends shouldn't keep secrets from each other, right?" He looked at her severely and she nodded.

"Right," she agreed, glancing up ahead. "Oh! There's the gym!" She hurried up to the sign that the man had told them about. "Violet City Gym, Leader Faulkner," she read. "The Elegant Master of Flying Pokémon."

She glanced towards Jesse, who was staring across the street at the Pokémon Academy. His green eyes were hard as he was looking at them and she walked over, touching his arm gently.

"Want to take out your anger on some bird masters?" she inquired. Jesse smiled slightly and they walked into the gym together, Eevee right next to his trainer as they entered.

A young girl was feeding a Pidgey as they walked in, giggling slightly, but she looked up, suddenly serious as she saw them. Instantly, she was on her feet, her eyes narrowing. "So, who are you two?" she wanted to know, placing her hands on her hips.

"I'm Lydia, this is Jesse," she told the girl, smiling. "The gym leader happen to be around?"

"Why? You're not thinking of challenging _my_ dad, are you?" the girl wanted to know, looking angry. "I know what they say about him; he's just a pushover. Good for beginners. Well, he's not. He's one of the best gym leaders that there are! You two aren't good enough to take him."

Lydia bit her lip, trying not to smile and looked at Jesse. He, too, was having trouble keeping a straight face. "Kid, don't you think your dad has the right to decide whether or not he wants to accept challengers?" he asked.

"Doesn't matter whether he wants to or not, he has to," the girl complained. "Gym leader rules."

"Well, then, you should probably let him know he has challengers," Lydia pointed out gently. She bent down. "We just want the chance to see if we're as good as your dad. We're here because we love Pokémon and want to help them get stronger and better."

The girl's eyes softened as she looked at Lydia, then her eyes flickered towards something behind them.

"Bertie, you know better than to keep my challengers waiting," a voice said from behind them. Lydia looked up to see a man that looked like he could be the girl's father standing behind them. Bertie gulped and scampered away, leaving Lydia and Jesse with Faulkner.

"Sorry about that," he told them. "She's been getting a bit angry lately, after her mother left. You two wanted to challenge me?" he asked, looking at the pair of them. "Very well, then. Follow me," he said, gesturing them to join him. Lydia followed him, Jesse behind her, as they climbed what seemed like a huge amount of stairs, finally reaching the top.

"Why don't you put in an elevator?" Lydia grumbled, her chest heaving as her feet found level. Jesse smirked at her and Faulkner grinned.

"I like to tire out my challengers," he replied. "Who's first?'

Lydia, unable to speak, pointed at Jesse. The trainer rolled his eyes before taking his place at the challenger's end while Faulkner took his own place. Jesse handed his Pokédex to the referee, who entered it into a computer.

"This match between challenger Jesse Turner of Alyson City and Gym Leader Faulkner shall now begin!"

Watching the match from the sidelines, Lydia had to admit that Jesse knew what he was doing and that Bertie was right, too; her dad was most definitely _not_ a pushover. The longer the match went on, the more her nerves started to heighten.

Despite being at a disadvantage, Ivysaur successfully took out Faulkner's Pidgey, but was called out of the match when Pidgeotto took the floor and Gastly was sent out. After a series of lick attacks, mixed in with a hypnosis attack, was enough to take the bird Pokémon out of the match.

"Pidgeotto is unable to battle," the referee called. "The match goes to challenger Jesse Turner of Alyson City!"

"Way to go, Jess!" Lydia exclaimed, hurrying over to hug him. He returned the embrace briefly.

"Your turn," he told her as he took his place on the sidelines. Lydia smirked as she looked at Faulkner, who nodded to the referee. She handed over her Pokédex to him, which he entered the data into the computer before returning it to her.

"This match between challenger Lydia Talon of Rosewaters Isle and Gym Leader Faulkner will now begin!" he called.

"Eevee, I choose you!" Lydia called, sending the fox Pokémon out into the match. Faulkner smirked.

"A normal?" he remarked, looking as though he'd already won the match. Lydia gave him a sweet, innocent smile in return.

"You haven't seen anything yet," she told him lightly. "You gonna sent your Pokémon out or not?"

Faulkner smiled. "You're sure in a hurry to lose," he told her, but produced a Spearow all the same. "Spearow, fury attack!"

"Dodge and use tackle!" Lydia shouted. Eevee obeyed, moving out of the way in the very last second to avoid the attack. He then turned and tackled Spearow head on, but the bird managed to peck him as Eevee unleashed the attack, so both Pokémon were injured.

"Eevee!" Lydia yelled. The fox Pokémon struggled to his feet and looked towards his trainer. "Can you continue?"

"Vee!"

"All right, then," Lydia said, relieved. She didn't want to switch just yet, but Eevee's safety came first. The moment that she was certain that he couldn't battle, then she was going to use Poliwag.

"Sure you want to continue?" Faulkner asked her and she nodded. "Have it your way, then. Spearow, pursuit!" Lydia's eyes went wide; the dark type attack would only do twice as much damage if she even tried to switch Pokémon. It might take both her Pokémon out before they had the chance to do anything.

"Don't let it hit you, Eevee!" Lydia shouted. "Dodge with quick attack!" The fox Pokémon disappeared, appearing in short appearances, but too quick for Spearow or the gym leader or his trainer to see Eevee. "Now take down!"

The attack hit dead on and Spearow was knocked from the air onto the ground, unconscious. Faulkner recalled it, looking slightly annoyed. "Nice tactics," he said. "But this match is just getting started. Go, Fearow!"

"Eevee, come back!" Lydia knew that the take down had drained Eevee, which was her main reason for calling the fox Pokémon back. "You did great, buddy," she told him. "Why don't we let Poliwag take it from here?"

With a small nod, Eevee allowed Lydia to send Poliwag into the match. Faulkner's eyes narrowed. "Fearow, let's finish up this little girl. Pursuit!"

"No way," Lydia retorted. "Poliwag, use bubble! Then follow up with hypnosis!" The first attack hit her mark, but the hypnosis attack was missed by Fearow managing to dodge it. "Shoot!" she grumbled. How was she supposed to stop it from flying so high?

"Fury attack, Fearow!" Faulkner called, taking her hesitation for admittance to defeat. "Finish it!"

"Water gun!" The command was out of her mouth before she could even stop to think. Poliwag released the water attack, sending it straight at Fearow. The attack hit the mark and Fearow was sailing down, wounded badly but not defeated. Not yet. "Now bubble one more time!"

"Poliwag!" The tagpole Pokémon did as she was told and unleashed another bubble attacked, sending Fearow into the wall. The crash was enough for both trainers to feel its impact and Lydia instantly felt worried that she'd hurt Fearow severely.

"Fearow is unable to battle," the referee announced as Faulkner hurried over to his fallen Pokémon. "This match goes to challenger Lydia Talon of Rosewaters Isle!"

Lydia hurried over to Faulkner as he glanced up at the referee, then to Lydia and Jesse, who had both joined him. "Is Fearow all right?" she asked, kneeling beside the bird.

"Yeah, he's fine," Faulkner said. "Just needs a good rest." He sent Fearow into his Pokéball and turned to the two of them. "Congratulations, the both of you. You two have earned these." He handed each of them a badge. "The Zephyr Badge is proof that you have won your match here at the Violet City Gym. And I'll have some money put into your accounts as well."

"Money?" Lydia repeated. "We get money just for winning?"

"Got to keep us going somehow," Jesse responded. "It's for potions, antidotes, stuff like that." Lydia nodded. "Thank you, sir."

Faulkner nodded. "If you two are headed for Azalea Town, then you might want to stop by the Ruins of Alph. They're quite something to see and there are some Pokémon that you won't have been expecting." He smiled. "If ever you would like to come and challenge me just for the practice, my doors are wide open. I definitely learned a few things from the two of you."

Lydia smiled. "I guess I'll take that as a compliment, considering this was my first battle."

The bird master stopped and looked at her, a quirky smile appearing on his face. She had a feeling that she knew what was coming. "Your first match . . . ever?" he asked and she nodded. "What, did you start a bit late or something?"

"A bit," Lydia admitted. "It's a long story."

Faulkner nodded. "Talon . . . you wouldn't be Jack Talon's daughter, by any chance, would you?"

"Niece," she corrected. "I'm his niece. My dad is his older brother."

Without questioning this, Faulkner escorted them out the door. After a quick treatment at the Pokémon centre, Lydia and Jesse were on their way to the Ruins of Alph and then to Azalea Town and their next gym battles.


	9. More Captures

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Nine: More Captures

Lydia stepped into one of the temples, looking at the mysterious etchings that were engraved onto the walls. Jesse was across the room, frowning slightly as he studied them. "Kind of look like Pokémon, don't they?" she asked. He nodded, still frowning. "I heard the guy at the gate say that they're called Unknown. Not many people have seen them."

"Might be cool to check them out," Jesse said, "but I think I'll stay on the safe side and stay clear."

"Yeah," Lydia agreed as they headed outside. "So where exactly was Faulkner talking about when he said there might be some Pokémon out here? I haven't seen any Pokémon around here, have you?"

"I think we should try over there," Jesse replied, pointing across a small stream of water. There was a narrow patch of grass where he pointed. "That looks like the perfect place for some Pokémon to hide out at."

"How exactly were we going to get across it?" Lydia inquired, raising her eyebrows as she glanced sideways at her friend. Eevee looked up at his trainer and darted forward, testing the water quickly. "Where are you going?"

"Vee!" Eevee pointed his paw across the water and quickly darted across, only sinking a few feet. Lydia blinked, glanced at Jesse, before testing the water herself. To her extreme surprise, the water only came up right below her knees. It wasn't at all deep.

"And you were worried?" Jesse responded as he followed her. She stuck her tongue out at him before climbing back on dry land. "Well, I asked the guard when we came here and he said that we're free to capture any of the Pokémon here, so long as they don't belong to any of the visitors. A lot of people come here, apparently, to do just that."

"To catch Pokémon or to steal other people's?" Lydia wanted to know, only half joking. A trace of a smile crossed Jesse's face. "You ever think about what happened to those people on the ferry?"

"Apparently, they only got a warning," Jesse responded. "I heard it on the news when we were in Cherrygrove. Plus probation, they're not allowed to be training for six months."

"That's _all_? Just a lousy six months?" Lydia responded, looking extremely upset. "Jeez, what's wrong with the law, anyway?"

"Trust me, a lot of people were just as outraged with it as you and I are," Jesse responded, glancing around. He released his Ivysaur as they entered the grassy area. "Holy cow!"

"What?" Lydia looked around and saw a Natu sitting on the ground not too far away from them. "Hey, aren't those supposed to be really rare?"

"Yep, but I've always wanted one of those," he replied, glancing sideways at her. "Believe it or not, I wanted to be a psychic trainer." Lydia laughed. "It's not funny!"

"Whatever," Lydia said, holding up her hands in surrender. "You gonna catch it?" He stared at her. "Psychics really aren't my thing. I'm not going to do one type, anyway."

"Yeah, I believe that," he muttered as he sent Ivysaur into battle. Just as the battle between the psychic/flying and the grass Pokémon started, Eevee started tugging on Lydia's pants leg. Glancing down at him, Lydia squatted down so that she was face to face with him.

"Hey, what's going on, buddy?" she asked, frowning. He was extremely worried as he pointed towards the grass beyond them. Lydia looked where he was indicating, then towards Jesse, who was deeply immersed in the battle. "Hey, Jess, we'll be right back."

He nodded without looking at her and she followed Eevee away from the battle towards whatever it was that was worrying him. "Hey, Eevee, will you please tell me what it is that's going on?" she asked just as Eevee came to a stop. Lydia glanced up.

"Oh," she said softly, spotting a Pokémon on top of a rock, looking scared and apprehensive at the two who approached. "Oh, I see." She walked hesitantly towards it, realising just what it was as she drew closer.

"A Cyndaquil!" she exclaimed, amazed. Despite being one of the three Johto starters, they were extremely hard to capture in the wild, as were both Chikorita and Totodile. "Hey, there, what are you doing here?"

Lydia pushed herself up on the rock to try and talk to the Pokémon. Eevee climbed up beside her and started talking to Cyndaquil, who replied back. Being only a limited psychic, Lydia could only guess what was going on. Cyndaquil seemed to be waiting for someone.

"Do you have a trainer?" she asked and Cyndaquil nodded. "Well, what happened, did they go somewhere?"

As Cyndaquil started explaining, Lydia saw images appear in her mind, coming from Cyndaquil's memories. There was an arrogant young man, around Lydia's age, telling her to stay put. "Just stay here and don't go anywhere," he told her. "And don't follow me." Without another word, he turned his back on her and walked away.

It had been three months since then and her trainer hadn't come back for her. Cyndaquil started crying now and Lydia picked the little Pokémon up, cradling her in her arms.

"Shh, it's okay, it's okay," she told her gently. "Cyndaquil, don't worry, okay? Everything's going to be all right."

But she knew, like the little Pokémon, that Cyndaquil had been abandoned. Some trainers hated weak Pokémon and didn't put any effort into helping them grow stronger on their own. Lydia resolved to punch both Eevee's and Cyndaquil's former trainers if she ever met them. They'd better pray that someone held her back if she did. People like them didn't deserve to be called Pokémon trainers.

"Hey, how would you like to come with us?" Lydia asked her. Cyndaquil looked up, confused. "We're going to Azalea Town, to the gym there, and we'll be going to the Johto League. How would you like to join the team?"

Eevee looked extremely happy at the situation and jumped joyfully up and down a couple of times. Cyndaquil was stunned as she looked at the young trainer, as though questioning her, to make sure that she'd understood.

"Come on, Cyndaquil, I would love for you to come," Lydia told her. She produced a Pokéball. "Join the group, but I'm not going to force you. If you want to stay here, you can. It's gonna be your own choice, but I know Eevee and I would be awfully sad if you stayed behind."

Cyndaquil hesitated, then looked towards Eevee, who nodded encouragingly, talking fast in his own language, nodding to Lydia. He seemed to be telling Cyndaquil that Lydia was a good trainer, with a kind and just heart. Both he and Poliwag were happy being on her team, and Cyndaquil would be just as lucky.

He also told Cyndaquil about his last trainer and what he'd done, how Lydia had rescued him, at the cost of her own home. She had left everything that she knew behind, even though she had help from her uncle, but she couldn't go back to the way things were.

This seemed to make up Cyndaquil's mind immediately. She jumped into the air and was engulfed by the red light. Lydia caught the Pokéball, looking down at Eevee.

"You guys really trust me that much?" she asked doubtfully. Eevee nodded, rubbing her arm encouragingly and smiling up at her. "Great. No pressure, then."

She stood up and climbed down from the rock with Eevee, dropping down onto the ground, where Jesse was waiting for her. "You were seriously going to let her stay here?" he asked her.

"If she wanted to wait for her old trainer, then there wasn't much I was going to do about it," Lydia responded. "I'm not going to force Pokémon to come with me, Jess, that's not the way that I do things. Did you catch that Natu?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.

Jesse nodded, producing a Pokéball. "You know, Eevee's right," he told her softly. "You do have a good heart." Lydia blushed, avoiding his eyes slightly. "So, on to Azalea Town?"

"On to Azalea Town," Lydia agreed as she hoisted her bag higher onto her shoulder. She smiled slightly as she remembered her uncle telling her that she and Eevee would be as close to her Cyndaquil as her mother had been to hers. He'd be right about her catching one. "You know, Cyndaquil was my mother's very first Pokémon."

Jesse looked at her, startled by her words. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah," Lydia agreed, running her hands through her hair as they left the Ruins of Alph, back on to Route 34. "That's what Uncle Jack said. She was a fire Pokémon trainer." At her words, Eevee looked up at her with fear in his eyes and she winced, bending down and picking him up.

"Hey, what's going on, Eevee?" Jesse asked, glancing at the trembling Pokémon. "You okay?"

"His former trainer was a fire trainer," Lydia explained in an undertone, trying to comfort Eevee. "I guess I brought up some bad memories or something when I said that."

Looking slightly sick, Jesse stopped and looked at Eevee, patting him on the forehead. The fox Pokémon looked up at him. "Hey, Eevee, don't let it get you down," he told him. "Not all fire trainers are like that. Lydia isn't anything like that. You know that by now. And if her mother was anything like her daughter, then she couldn't hurt a Pokémon to save her own life. Nor would she do it, even against her will."

Eevee smiled up at Jesse, who glanced up at Lydia. "So, where are we headed to?" he asked, then spotted Lydia's smile. "What?"

"Nothing," Lydia said, still smiling. "It's just . . . you're good talking with Pokémon, that's all."

"I understand them," Jesse corrected. "And only because I hated that school so much that I spent so much time with my Pokémon than with the other trainers there. Trust me, I learned a lot more about Pokémon behaviour while I was there than I learned what they were teaching."

Lydia glanced at him as Eevee jumped down from her arms to scare a couple of Butterfree, much to the trainers' amusement. "So, where are we headed towards?"

"Pokémon Centre," Lydia answered, stopping to retrieve the map she'd stashed in her bag.

"But that's either back in Violet or in Azalea Town. It's too far to either one. We won't make it there tonight." Jesse looked at her as if she were crazy. Both of them could see that the sun was starting to set.

"There's a Pokémon Centre outside of Union Cave, right on the road," Lydia explained, showing him. "We'll have to go inside of Union Cave in order to get to Azalea."

Jesse's eyes lit up. "Great! A cave! I like caves!" Without waiting to see if she was going to hurry up, Jesse started walking briskly down the path, heading towards the Pokémon Centre on Route 32.

Lydia rolled her eyes, glancing down at Eevee. "He's completely mental," she sighed, walking after him before he took off, leaving them behind.

--

"Check-up for both of ours, Nurse Joy," Jesse said as Lydia put her three Pokéballs onto the counter, along with Eevee. He added his three Pokéballs and the nurse, who looked exactly the same as the first two nurses that Lydia had met before, took them.

"It shouldn't take too long," she said with a smile. "Are you two going to be staying for the night or are you going to be heading into Union Cave tonight?" The two trainers looked at each other. Jesse was looking pleadingly at her, but Lydia put her foot down.

"I think we should wait until morning," Lydia said. Jesse made a face. "Buddy, you may like caves, but I would prefer to wait until there's actually _some_ light before heading in there."

Jesse pouted. "Spoilsport," he complained. Lydia rolled her eyes as Nurse Joy smiled, handing them a key.

"Room 13 is still available," she said. "There's a couple of trainers still up and are in the kitchen area. I'll take care of your Pokémon and have them out to you as soon as I can."

"Thanks," Lydia and Jesse chorused.

As they headed into the kitchen area, Lydia turned to Jesse. "So, how many of them are there, actually?" she asked. "Seeing double once is crazy enough, but three times? What, are they all related or something?" She half-snorted when Jesse nodded, grinning.

"Yep, all of them are related. Some are sisters, cousins, distant cousins, anything you can think of," he replied. "And every one of them are in charge of the Pokémon Centres and all of them have the same name." Lydia blinked.

"Well, at least we can remember their names," she said, half-joking as she joined the line through the cafeteria. She retrieved a hamburger, a piece of chocolate pie, and a glass of chocolate milk.

"Not that hungry?" Jesse asked her as he piled on his tray two hamburgers, a pile of fries, a large piece of cherry pie, and a soda.

"Nope," Lydia answered wryly, glancing at his tray. Or the large mountain of food that would be going into his bottomless stomach, perhaps was more appropriate. "Jess, how are you going to be able to eat all of the right before bed?"

Jesse glanced at her, surprised. "Simple," he replied. "I pick them up and I bite into them, then I hit the sack." Lydia rolled her eyes as they headed over to a table. "How can you not be that hungry? We haven't had a decent meal since Violet and that was yesterday afternoon."

"I've got a small stomach," Lydia responded lightly, eating the hamburger and pie. Jesse practically devoured his. "Don't you have any manners? Eat slow bits, it's better for your digestion."

"Will you quit mothering me, please?" Jesse responded, rolling his eyes. Lydia's eyes narrowed as she turned away, returning to her own meal. "So, tomorrow we go through Union Cave, then on to Azalea?"

Although Lydia had a slight chill go up her spine when he mentioned the cave, Lydia nodded. "Yeah," she said softly. "Definitely."

But she couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong tomorrow in the cave.


	10. Questions and Answers

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Ten: Questions and Answers

Lydia was already up and down in the kitchen, finishing up her bowl of cereal when Jesse finally managed to drag himself out of bed and grace her with his presence. "Good morning, sunshine," she teased when she saw his tired expression. He scowled, burying his face in his arms. "I take it that you're not exactly a morning person."

"Shut up," Jesse grumbled, raising his head to glare at her. "What time are we leaving?"

"As soon as you can get up and get yourself something to eat," Lydia answered. "I'm going to go check on everybody else. By the time we get back, I want you at the very least started on breakfast." She pushed back her chair and left the room, leaving Jesse alone at the table. "I saw that," she added as he stuck his tongue out at her.

"I _know_," he replied.

Lydia shook her head as she headed to where Nurse Joy was keeping all of their Pokémon. Jesse's Pokémon and hers were all in a group together, cheerfully chattering and eating some fruits that had been provided for them. The moment that they saw her, Eevee and Poliwag headed over to greet her while Cyndaquil approached her cautiously.

She still hadn't entirely earned her trust just yet, Lydia realised as she stretched out her arm to greet the fire Pokémon. "Hey, Cyndaquil, did you sleep well?" she asked, scratching her behind the ears. Almost immediately, she perked up and allowed herself to be scooped up and greeted by the young trainer as she looked over at Jesse's Pokémon. "How about you guys?" she asked, smiling. "Everybody okay?"

They all gave her an affirmative and she grinned, glancing up as Nurse Joy entered the room. "They're all clear," she said, smiling at Lydia. "Are you and Mr. Turner heading out?"

"If he can get moving, that is," Lydia said, rolling her eyes. The nurse smiled, glancing at the Pokémon. "What's the matter?" She saw the worry in Nurse Joy's eyes visibly.

"Miss Talon . . . Lydia . . . may I speak to you for a moment?" The nurse motioned her outside and Lydia stood up to follow the nurse. Her Pokémon looked slightly worried as they watched their trainer leave. Nurse Joy led her to the office, where she closed the door.

Once they were alone, Nurse Joy glanced at the trainer. "I wanted to have a word before I brought in some authorities," she told Lydia severely. "Last night, I came across something very strange while I was examining both Eevee and Cyndaquil."

Almost immediately, Lydia understood what this was about. "I have never hurt them," she said firmly. "Ever. You can ask them yourselves, but I would never do that to a Pokémon. I'd rather take my own life than do something like that." The nurse looked at Lydia, who stared back.

"How did they come across those injuries, then?" Nurse Joy asked, a harshness in her voice that Lydia had never dared imagine could be there. Not from the kind, helpful nurse at the Centre.

Still, Lydia took a deep breath and launched into the explanation of what had happened at her father's house, then of where they had found Cyndaquil at and about their previous trainers. "I swear that it's the truth," she said when she finished. Nurse Joy frowned, then sighed.

"I didn't think that you were the kind of trainer who would do that to her Pokémon," she admitted. "But I had to ask, Lydia. It's my job and I was worried about the Pokémon's safety. I did notice that the injuries were old. You said that Cyndaquil's trainer abandoned him several months ago?"

Lydia nodded. "Yeah, that's what she said," she answered. "We found her on this rock at the Ruins of Alph, where Jesse caught his Natu at." She hated to think what could've happened if they had ignored Faulkner's advice and skipped the Ruins altogether. They never would have met up with their newest members of the team and who knew what would've happened to Cyndaquil?

"Well, I'm going to call my second cousin down at the Rosewaters Isle Pokémon Centre to confirm your story," the nurse said, picking up the phone. "If she verifies your story, then you and the Pokémon are free to go."

She started dialling the Pokémon Centre and Lydia waited impatiently for the other nurse to pick up. On the third ring, someone on Rosewaters Isle picked up the phone. "This is the Rosewaters Isle Pokémon Centre," the nurse on the other end said. She smiled when she saw her cousin on the phone. "Well, hello! And Lydia, too, how are you?"

"I'm okay," Lydia said with a smile. "How are things on the Isle?"

"Good, but somehow I get the feeling that isn't the reason for the phone call," Nurse Joy said, glancing at her cousin, who was waiting patiently. "What exactly is this about?"

Her cousin explained about the scars she'd found on two of Lydia's Pokémon's backs and Lydia's story about rescuing Eevee at her father's home two months ago. "Is all of this true?" she asked, finishing up the story. "Did she bring Eevee to you?"

"Yes, two months ago," Nurse Joy said, nodding. "It was after midnight and I woke to Lydia shouting for someone to help. When I came out, I found her with Eevee, severely injured, and I rushed her into surgery. Without that girl there, Eevee most certainly would have died." She paused. "You didn't think that _Lydia_ hurt them?"

"No, I didn't, but with two of them, I had to make sure," her cousin said. "Thanks, cousin." Nurse Joy nodded as the phone call ended. "Well, that settles it then. I'm sorry for doubting you."

"I'm glad you did," Lydia answered, holding up her hand. "Besides, it would've captured someone's attention eventually. To be honest, I'm just glad that it was someone who would listen to me."

Nurse Joy smiled. "Well, then, you two had better get going. It can get pretty dark in Union Cave pretty early. Plus, it's hard to see even in the daytime. You don't want to get caught in there after dark."

Lydia sighed. "Tell that to Jesse," she grumbled, heading out of the office to go back to her Pokémon. The moment they saw her, they jumped on top of her, wanting to make sure everything was okay. "Guys, it's all right, everything's fine!"

Once they had collected Jesse and explanations had been given, Lydia and Jesse headed into Union Cave, with only one flashlight between them. They had Eevee, Natu, and Gastly out, hoping that the Pokémon's eyes would be better than theirs were. It was about an hour later when Lydia realised that Jesse was not beside her anymore. Almost immediately, she panicked, worried about his whereabouts. Had they gotten separated when neither one of them could see anything?

"Jess, I cannot see a thing!" Lydia said, stretching out to try and find him. "Where are you?"

"Over here!" Jesse called and she walked over to where she had heard his voice, seizing his hand. Almost immediately, Jesse let out a curse of pain. "Jeez, you've got a grip like solid rock. What are you scared of the dark or something?"

"I don't mind the dark, but this is total blackness!" Lydia retorted. "Can we just find the way out of here, please?" Eevee was in her arms so that he wouldn't get separated from them. He whined at her complaining.

"It seems Eevee thinks you're overreacting as much as I do," Jesse muttered. "Should've known better than to start travelling with a girl. I've gotten too much trouble with my sisters."

"Ha, ha. If we ever get out of here, remind me to give you a black eye." A low rumbling emerged as she spoke. Lydia froze. "Uh . . . guys, was that you?"

"Vee?"

"Nat?"

"Gastly?"

"Shh, listen." Jesse stopped too and for a moment silence fell over the cave as the two trainers. After a minute, they both heard the rumbling sound coming somewhere within the cave. "What's that?"

"I don't know, but I don't want to stick around to find out," Jesse said, pulling her along. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"Thought you liked caves, Jess." Lydia smirked at him, despite that he couldn't see her. Without warning, she suddenly sensed something was wrong. _And_ it was coming down the direction that he was heading towards. "Wait, Jesse, not that way!"

But she had spoken too late. They had both found a hole in the floor and both trainers fell through. Lydia screamed, holding on tight to Eevee, who was squealing, clawing to her shirt so not to get separated from her. Nearby, she could hear Jesse yelling as they both hit the floor with enormous force. That was all Lydia remembered as everything went black around her and she lost consciousness.


	11. Wounded Pokemon

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Eleven: Wounded Pokémon

Lydia groaned slightly as her head pounded slightly. As her head spun, she felt someone push her head aside and someone laughed. "She's out cold, this one," a girl's voice remarked. It sounded familiar to Lydia, though she couldn't place it at the moment. "Just take them, the chief will be pleased that we got some Pokémon and left this little girl to die. She won't last ten minutes out here alone."

"What about the boy?"

"I don't think that we have to worry about him," the girl said. "They've been giving me trouble since I first saw them and I'll be glad to cause him this pain. As for the girl . . . I think she's been giving the chief some grief, so I doubt he'll want her to survive. So long as she stays down here long enough, she'll run out of air."

"Vee! Eevee!"

"Poli!"

"Quil!"

Her eyes flew open as she heard the voices of her Pokémon, obviously frightened and alarmed. With such force that she didn't think that she was capable of, Lydia pushed herself up off of the floor, her head spinning as she scrambled to her feet.

All it took was for her to see Alicia Knightly standing in front of her for her head to stop spinning. "Oh, great, it's you," she grumbled, shaking her head. "Can't you stay out of my life? It was bad enough seeing you on the ferry here; I don't really like having repeats of stuff." Alicia chuckled as she stepped forward, watching Lydia carefully.

"Careful there, Talon," she warned. "Otherwise, I might have to have your precious little Pokémon be tortured just to have you listen. And I don't think you really want that to happen. After all, those Pokémon have already been through enough, don't you think?"

"Yeah, being in your insufferable presence is torture enough," Lydia threw at her. A flush crossed Alicia's face and she sputtered incoherent words towards the trainer. "What, can't think of anything intelligent to say?" she inquired, giving the older girl a sardonic smile.

"Aren't you interested in the fate of your little boyfriend?" Alicia said, finally recovering.

Lydia froze; until that moment, she hadn't realised that Jesse wasn't with her. And she didn't see Ivysaur, Gastly, or Natu with them. Her heart pounded in her chest as she glared at Alicia.

"One, he isn't my boyfriend. Two, what have you done with him? If you've laid one hand on him . . ."

"Relax, girl, calm down," Alicia said lightly. "We haven't done anything to him. Yet. He'll be fine. It's you that you need to worry about. The chief is highly interested in your disposal. I don't know what you've done to get on his bad side, but I really don't care."

"Weren't you banned from Pokémon training for six months?" Lydia wondered, shaking her head.

"Oh, that? The chief managed to get us out of that," Alicia said with a shrug. "He wasn't too happy about it, but he pays greatly for loyal supporters. If you weren't such a nuisance, then I'd consider helping you join, but unfortunately for you, I don't like you."

"Well, even if you did, I wouldn't join him even if he was standing here, threatening me with life or death," Lydia said coldly. "I won't hurt innocent people or Pokémon."

"What makes you think that we do?"

"'Most of them would never even think about using Pokémon's power for evil,'" Lydia mocked, throwing her words from the ferry back at her. "'Our main obligation is to rid the world of evil and to do that, Pokémon must be under our control.'" Alicia's eyes widened as she stared in disbelief at Lydia. "How do you think the captain found you out?"

"Why, you little—"

"And by the way," Lydia added, "you've picked the wrong girl to mess with. Threatening me is one thing, Knightly, but threatening my friends in another thing entirely. You just made a really big mistake."

"Oh, I don't think so," Alicia snarled. "Start the machine," she ordered one of the men behind her. "Let's see how long she lasts with her precious 'friends' being tortured in front of her. Let's see . . . start with the fire starter," she remarked with a smirk.

Cyndaquil squealed as they lifted her out of the cave, looking at Lydia fearfully. "Don't you dare!" Lydia yelled, struggling against the bonds that were holding her captive. "If you even harm her for one second . . ." She left the threat hanging as Alicia turned.

"Empty threats, Talon," she told her. "You see, we both know you don't have it in you to hurt another human being. There's just too much decency in you, little girl. Too much honour. That's the problem with you and always will be until you learn that no matter what you do, somebody is going to get hurt."

"Not innocents," Lydia retorted, plunging into the depths of her power. "And by the way, Knightly . . ." Alicia looked at her, eyebrows raised. "I really wouldn't hurt my Pokémon if I were you."

Alicia smirked before looking at the men. "Start it up!"

The moment that Lydia saw the switch flipped, her eyes blazed with anger and power. "Big mistake," she said softly. As she felt her anger grow, so did the force of her attack. A titanic force flew towards Alicia and the others as the bonds broke.

Immediately, as Cyndaquil began squeaking with pain and anguish, she raced towards them, attempting to break the machine holding Cyndaquil in the machine. "Hang on!" she yelled towards the fire Pokémon. "Come on!" she ordered the machine. "Cyndaquil, can you do a flamethrower?"

The fire Pokémon struggled and almost immediately whimpered. "Come on, sweetie, I know it's hard, but I need your help to get you out of there! We need you. I'm right here, just one flamethrower and we'll get out of here!"

Cyndaquil looked up at her and opened her mouth. The flame on her back flared as a flamethrower exploded from her, destroying the machine. Lydia had to duck as it exploded, but popped up and seized Cyndaquil before the machine started flaring, spreading fire as it went.

Holding the unconscious Cyndaquil in her arms, Lydia ran towards Eevee and Poliwag, trying to figure out a way to break the cages that they were in. Spotting a rock laying nearby, she told them, "Stand back!" As they retreated, she began pounding the lock on the cage with the rock, praying it would work. It took several minutes, with fire starting to spread faster, but finally it broke and the two Pokémon leaped into her arms, clinging to her.

"Okay, I'm glad you guys are okay, too, but we have to find Jesse and get out of here!" Lydia, still holding Cyndaquil, looked around at the flames. "Poliwag, use water gun!"

The tadpole Pokémon released the water attacked, extinguishing the flames enough for them to escape through the cave door, plunging through before returning to the eerie darkness.

"Jesse!" Lydia yelled. "JESSE!" There was no answer. "Jess, if you can hear me, please answer me! If you can hear me but can't answer, then give me some sign that you _do_ hear me! And if you're completely unconscious," she added lamely, "then somebody please help me."

"Lydia?" Jesse's voice echoed slightly through the darkness. "Thank goodness!" He raced towards her and hugged her quickly before letting go. "Are you all okay?"

"Cyndaquil needs help," Lydia said, looking helplessly down at the fire Pokémon in her arms. "Are all of yours okay?"

"We're fine," Jesse said, taking her arm. "Natu, find the way out of here and hurry!" The bird/psychic Pokémon flew away from them, using her psychic powers to find the exit. With Eevee and Poliwag at her feet, Lydia ran with Jesse after Natu to get them out of Union Cave as fire raged behind them, threatening to take them.

--

With Natu as their guide, it didn't take them long to find the exit to Union Cave, but every second seemed like an hour to Lydia and with each passing minute, she could feel Cyndaquil growing weaker and weaker in her arms, shivering slightly.

"Hang on, sweetie," she whispered, stroking the fire Pokémon gently as she caught sight of light ahead of them. "Hey, is that sunlight?"

"Thank goodness!" Jesse hurried ahead and they burst from the cave, spilling out into the bright daylight. For a moment, Lydia was blinded from the light, her eyes struggling to adjust to it, but the whimper from Cyndaquil reminded her that time was of the essence.

"Come on!" Jesse ordered as he grabbed her arm. "Azalea Town is this way!" Dashing down the road, they were met by a police car with its lights flashing speeding down the road, skidding to a stop next to the two trainers.

"Hey, did you kids just come from Union Cave?" the police officer who opened the door asked them, looking at them. "Couple of hikers said that there was some kind of commotion going on in there. Smelled like there was a fire or something—"

"Yeah, it's still going on down there, but we don't have time to explain what happened," Jesse interrupted, jerking his head towards Lydia. "Her Cyndaquil is hurt badly. We need to get it to the Pokémon Centre."

The officer nodded once, jerking his head towards the car. "Get in, kids, I'll get you there. Jerry!" he called towards another cop. "Call for the fire department quick. I'm gonna take these kids to the Centre and then get the information."

Lydia didn't ask questions as they piled into the car and the car squealed away towards Azalea Town. Eevee climbed onto the seat, looking worriedly down at Cyndaquil. He looked up at Lydia, the question evident in his brown eyes as he looked back at Cyndaquil. Poliwag looked just as worried as she joined them.

"She'll be okay, you guys," Lydia assured them. "Nothing's gonna happen to her." _I hope_, she thought worriedly as she saw the Pokémon Centre up ahead. "There it is!"

The officer had barely pulled to a stop when Lydia yanked open the door to the car, racing out of it with her Pokémon at her heels. "Kid!" the officer yelled after her. "Wait until I stop!"

She ignored him as she raced up the steps and burst into the Centre, startling two trainers that were receiving their Pokéballs from Nurse Joy after having them checked over.

"Nurse Joy!" Lydia yelled, her chest heaving as she ran towards the nurse as fast as should could. "We need help!"

It only took one look at Cyndaquil to make Nurse Joy gasp and call immediately for a stretcher. "Here, set her down gently," she instructed Lydia as Jesse and the officer appeared. "There you go. Rush her to the critical care unit," she instructed the Chansey. "Miss, you'll have to go to the waiting room."

Lydia nodded, not arguing as the doors closed behind her, shutting her out. All she could do was sit down and worry.

At least, that's what she planned on doing before a throat cleared and she turned to the officer, who was smiling gently. "Don't worry," he told her. "She's in good hands. I don't mean to intrude, but could you two tell me exactly what happened in the cave?"


	12. A Survivor

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Twelve: A Survivor

Officer Jenkins questioned them persistently during the course of the next hour and a half about the happenings in the cave. Lydia was grateful for the distraction; at least in prevented her from thinking about the little Pokémon whose life was hanging the balance. She had been so weak when they arrived that Lydia wasn't sure if Cyndaquil would make it.

Eevee and Poliwag were sitting in her lap, snuggling close to their trainer, but she had the feeling that their thoughts, too, were on the fate of their partner. She stroked them as Jenkins stood up, his expression grave as he glanced outside. "I was worried about that," he muttered.

"Sir?" Lydia asked. "Do you know who they are? I mean, they kept mentioning this chief and . . . I have the feeling that they're some kind of secret organization or something." She bit her lip as he looked at her.

"You're a sharp girl, Miss Talon," he remarked. "Yes, I think that's exactly what they are. It's too soon to say, but I'd have to guess that they're operating in secret in all parts of Johto, maybe even the entire world. You never can tell if a person is a friend or foe anymore." He looked at her and smiled. "Of course, you seem to have good instincts. You should trust them, Miss Talon."

"But who are they?" Jesse asked.

"I have absolutely no idea," he admitted. "And if there was any evidence left, they were probably destroyed in that fire. Not to mention, any of them that we could have questioned are long gone. Now, don't worry about that," he added, seeing Lydia's guilty face. "You had more important things to worry about and I would've been extremely disappointed if you had been more worried about catching those crooks than the fate of your Pokémon."

"Right," Lydia said, shivering slightly. "I hate trainers like that." Jesse grinned and Officer Jenkins chuckled.

"Well, I'd better get back over to the station and give the detective the report. You two had better stay here tonight, in case some stragglers decided to attack you here. I'll have a guard posted outside all night, just in case. You two going to challenge the gym leader?" Jesse and Lydia nodded. "Well, good luck. Bug trainers around here, but Cyndaquil should help you out there," he said with a smile at Lydia.

She could only manage a weak smile back. "Hopefully," she whispered. Jesse squeezed her hand tightly and Jenkins clasped both of their shoulders before heading out of the Centre. "How long have they been back there?"

Jesse glanced at the clock. "Almost an hour and a half," he answered. "Look, I would take the long wait as a good thing. If it was quick, then it would mean that there wasn't much they could do. I'd worry more, then."

Lydia glared at him. "If that's supposed to make me feel better, then you've failed miserably," she told him.

With a small smile, Jesse wrapped his arm around her and she reluctantly rested her head onto his shoulder, glancing over at the ER. The red light on the door remained lit, which meant that they were still operating. "Talk to me, Lydia," Jesse said quietly.

She was silent for a long moment before she spoke. "I had a dream about my mother the other night," she said quietly. "Back on the way to Violet City. It felt . . . so real. I couldn't see her; she was behind a veil of mists. But I could hear her voice . . . it was so much like how I imagined it as a child and how I often heard it late a night, right before I went to sleep." Jesse was quiet as she talked. "She told me that . . . I had to find out some truth, something that happened that I was lied to about. But she didn't say what it was."

"Maybe it was just a dream," Jesse told her as he let her go. Lydia looked around at him. "Or maybe you're supposed to find out the truth for yourself, not somebody else tell you."

Lydia sighed. "Yeah, that's what she said. Mom said that I would know the truth only when it was essential for me to know. When I was ready, then I would find out. But . . ." She sighed. "What could I possibly find out that would come as an even bigger surprise than anything else?"

Jesse was silent as he considered this. "Maybe . . ." he said finally. "Maybe the reason why your father has been so . . . resentful towards you. I'd say that there's a pretty big story behind that. No parent ever holds a grudge against a child for no particular reason. Unless they're just plain evil," he added dryly. "I've seen some parents like that."

"What's your dad like?" Lydia asked, remembering what he'd told her when they first met. His dad had walked out on his family.

Shaking his head, Jesse looked at her. "I don't remember him that much," he admitted. "Ever since he left, I've never even heard from him and I think that was . . . I think I was around five then. Pretty much the only memory I've got is him walking out the door." He shook his head. "Jessica was around three and Jamie was . . . not even born yet. She came about nine months later."

"All J's, huh?" Lydia asked with a small smile. It vanished the moment that the light turned off on the ER and she jumped up, rushing over to Nurse Joy as she walked out with Cyndaquil on the stretcher. "Is she okay?" she asked the nurse anxiously.

"She'll be fine, just a good rest," the nurse told her reassuringly. "So long as she gets some undisturbed rest, then she'll be ship-shape in the morning. You're all welcome to go to recovery and stay with her, but I want her to have rest," she said warningly to the group.

"Yes, ma'am," Lydia said meekly. Jesse looked nervous as the nurse smiled, instructing Chansey to take Cyndaquil to recovery.

Just as Lydia was about to head out towards recovery, the nurse stopped her, frowning slightly. "Miss Talon, you're bleeding," she observed. Lydia blinked, startled, then rubbed the spot where it had been itching for awhile. When she pulled her hand back, it was covered with blood.

"Oh, I guess I must've cut it back in the cave," she said wryly. Jesse smirked and Nurse Joy sighed, shaking her head. "I'm fine; it's not that bad, actually."

"If it's still bleeding, then you must've cut it deeper than you think," Joy said automatically. "Come with me, young lady." Lydia rolled her eyes at the commanding, motherly tone the nurse portrayed, before following her.

Although it only took a few minutes for her to bandage up the cut, it felt like hours to Lydia, who only wanted to get back to recovery and stay with Cyndaquil. By the time that she was released by the nurse, she was filled with jitters and her worrying had tripled.

Jesse was pacing back and forth across the room when she got there. Cyndaquil was lying on the bed, asleep, as Eevee and Poliwag sat on the bed next to her, looking around at Lydia as she entered. She smiled reassuringly at them as she sat down in the chair next to the bed, rubbing Cyndaquil's back gently as she leaned back in the chair.

"You guys might as well get some sleep," she told Eevee and Poliwag. "I think we're gonna be here for awhile." She picked up their Pokéballs from her bag. Although she never kept Eevee in his Pokéball, she still had one for him.

However, both Poliwag and Eevee shook their heads as she tried to recall them. "Aren't you two tired?" she asked, startled. They looked pretty tired and she could sense their weariness with her psyche.

Then it hit her. They were too worried about Cyndaquil, too, to even think about sleep. A new member to the team, she might be, but that didn't mean that they didn't care.

"Oh, you guys . . ." she sighed, hugging them both. Eevee was shaking underneath her touch due to his fear and Poliwag's eyes were filled with worry and concern. "Don't worry, she's gonna be okay; you heard Nurse Joy, she just needs rest." She gave them a reassuring smile.

"She's right, you know," Jesse spoke up, walking over to Lydia, placing his hands on her shoulders. "As long as she gets some sleep and relaxation, there's no reason why she shouldn't be fine by morning. We should all get some sleep. I'll go get some blankets," he added, heading out the door with Natu on his shoulder. Ivysaur and Gastly followed him from behind.

"Thanks, Jess," Lydia told him, tugging a strand of her light brown hair as he left. She looked towards her Pokémon with a smile. "Come on, it's all been a long day. We should get some sleep."

By the time that Jesse returned, carrying two blankets, the young trainer from Rosewaters Isle was curled up, asleep in the chair. Eevee and Poliwag were right next to her, lying curled up with Cyndaquil on the bed. He smiled slightly, shaking his head as he unfolded a blanket, covering Lydia with it gently. She shifted slightly as the weight settled down upon her, but slept on.

--

Lydia woke when she felt someone climb onto her lap, slowly and careful, so as not to wake her. Although this attempt was slightly furtile, she observed as she shifted slightly, opening her eyes to find Cyndaquil settling herself on her lap. The fire Pokémon looked up at her guiltily as she sat up, careful not to accidentally throw Cyndaquil off.

"Cyndaquil!" she exclaimed, relieved to see her awake and mobile. "Thank goodness you're okay! I was so worried!" She hugged the fire Pokémon gently as Cyndaquil snuggled closer to her Pokémon. "Are you all right?" she asked and Cyndaquil nodded, though Lydia could sense that she was a little scared about what had happened in the cave. "It's all right, you're safe now. You were _so_ brave back there, sweetie. I'm so proud of you."

A shimmer of a smile crossed across Cyndaquil's face as she looked up at Lydia happily. Eevee and Poliwag were starting to wake up by now and Lydia let Cyndaquil so that she could talk with her team-mates, glancing around the room as the blanket fell around her lap.

Jesse was missing, as well as all of his Pokémon. Lydia looked around again, but she knew that she couldn't have missed them. Getting to her feet, she peered outside the room to look for him, but the only person she saw was Nurse Joy, heading her way.

"I was just coming to check on my patient," she said with a smile as Lydia smiled at her. "Looks like she's feeling better. I'm going to do a few checks, but I really don't foresee any problems. Her injuries weren't as severe as they could've been. You got her here in good time." She patted Lydia's shoulder. "Your friend Mr. Turner is down at the kitchen, by the way. Come on, Cyndaquil," she added, smiling at the fire Pokémon. "After we do a quick check up, you can join your friends."

"We'll see you in a few minutes, Cyndaquil," Lydia said with a smile. Once the fire Pokémon had left with the nurse, she turned to the others. "You guys hungry?"

Once she'd taken Eevee and Poliwag to get something to eat, she headed towards the kitchen to find Jesse. As she expected, the dark haired trainer was already chewing down on a plateful of pancakes. "Can you go one day without running out of here with all of the Centre's food?" she inquired as she sat her bag next to Jesse's.

"I could, but I just don't want to," Jesse responded. "Cyndaquil must be okay, if you're down here harassing me."

"She's fine, Nurse Joy just took her back for some tests," Lydia told him. "Apart from finding anything, we should be clear to go. I don't want to put her through a gym battle first thing we do, though. The last thing we want is a relapse." Jesse nodded before heading back to his pancakes.

After getting herself a bowl of cereal, Lydia sat down, pulling out a map and studying it careful as she ate. "So, we can probably head down Ilex Forest and do some training there or we can just check out some stuff here in Azalea. What do you think?"

"We should probably stay in Azalea for the time being," Jesse said with a grin. "It's like Officer Jenkins said: fire is super on bugs. So whenever Cyndaquil is ready, you shouldn't have any problem at the gym. Who's the gym leader, anyway?"

"His name's Bugsy," Lydia answered. "I think he's really young, too, only a couple of years older than us or something." Staring thoughtfully across the room, Lydia was ripped from her musing by Jesse.

"So I'm thinking I was gonna use Gastly, if it's one-on-one," he said. Lydia nodded in agreement. "I mean, ghosts are super on bugs, too. Should at least give me an advantage. Hopefully," he added.

"Looks like we've got ourselves a plan," Lydia said cheerfully. "So where do you want to go while Cyndaquil recouperates? It's not exactly a big town, Jess, not much to do here."

Jesse shrugged, but then his gaze caught on something behind Lydia. "We'll go to a Pokémon festival," he said, nodding to the bulletin board that was behind her. She turned around and looked at the poster. "They've got a trainer gathering downtown. We should go. It'll give Cyndaquil time to relax and we'll have fun there."

"Sounds like fun," Lydia agreed.


	13. Festivals and Phone Calls

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Thirteen: Festivals and Phone Calls

"Remind me why I agreed to this?" Lydia grumbled as she trailed through the festival that was in the streets of Azalea. She had long lost sight of Jesse, who had disappeared soon after they got there, excited about the games and stuff to wait for her to catch up, and she had been looking for him ever since. It probably would've made more sense to just have some fun and wait for him to catch up to her, but she couldn't help but have the feeling that she was being watched and she wanted to find Jesse as soon as possible.

Eevee, Poliwag, and Cyndaquil all trailed after her, looking for Jesse. "You guys getting tired?" she asked, looking at them. They all three looked exhausted. "All right, I give up. That boy is just going to have to have an earful when I find him again. Let's get something to eat. Then we'll have some fun."

That was easier said than done, because the lines for the food stand was over two miles long and tickets were about double that. Lydia groaned as she tried to find another food stand, one that wasn't so long, but they all looked about the same.

"Why do people find some fun in this stuff?" she wondered, shaking her head. She sighed as she pushed through the crowd, managing to claim a vacant bench, laying her head onto her hands as her Pokémon climbed onto it. "I don't know how Jesse did it. This place is completely crazy." She looked at her Pokémon as they climbed into her lap. "I'm sorry, you guys."

But they all protested, insisting that it was all right. She smiled as she pet each of them tenderly, looking around at the crowd again. Maybe it was just because she wasn't used to festivals that was making her feel so flustered. That was a very real possibility.

"All right, what do you say that we give it another try?" Lydia asked as she climbed up. "Let's vote. Anyone who wants to go back to the Pokémon Centre—" Almost instantly, all three Pokémon raised a paw—except for Poliwag, who lifted her tail higher—and Lydia shook her head. "Okay, let's go. I'm sure that we can find something else to do that doesn't include getting trampled."

Almost the minute that she said that, she was shoved sideways by a group of tourists who succeeded in knocking the young trainer into a tent, where she landed on her stomach, groaning slightly. She glanced up as her Pokémon came running in to make sure she was okay.

"It's all right, guys," she told them, pushing herself to her feet. "No permanent damage." She sighed as she turned around and stopped dead in her tracks. "Oh, boy," she groaned, spotting the girl that was behind her. "Sorry, didn't mean to barge in . . ."

The girl only smiled as she sat down at the desk. "Don't worry about it; I know these festivals can be really hazardous. Come on, sit down," she instructed, waving her hand.

Almost instantly, the boxes that had been covering a seat lifted up and dropped across the room. Lydia sensed the telekinetic energy coming from the girl, though this didn't stop her from gaping at her.

She looked up to see Lydia's expression and grinned. "Oh, don't act so surprised," she told her. "You're just the same as me."

"Yeah, but I don't go flaunting it all over the place," Lydia retorted, staying where she was. The girl grinned, but didn't respond. "And how did you know that, anyway?" She was becoming very suspicious of this girl, even though she didn't know who she was.

"All psychics are joined telepathically," she replied, waving her hand in exasperation. "Don't you know that? I thought that all psychics knew that." She raised her eyebrow considerably. "What kind of a psychic are you, anyway?"

"The kind that doesn't use her powers," Lydia responded angrily. The girl looked at her and shook her head.

"Okay, now that is ridiculous," she said in amazement. "Why would anyone not want to use our gifts? They were passed down to use through our ancestors and to not use them would be to dishonour our ancestors."

Lydia stared at her, torn between exasperation and amusement. "Who are you?" she asked, bewildered.

"Kirsten Anderson," she replied with a smile. "My psychic Pokémon and I are going to be doing a show pretty soon." She glanced towards Lydia's Pokémon, frowning slightly. "Don't you have any psychics? We've always trained psychics, ever since the beginning."

"Not interested," Lydia said flatly. "I train _Pokémon_, not a certain type. And I don't care about dishonouring my ancestors. They'd be proud of what I do, not how I do it."

Kirsten stared at her. "Don't you know that you've been given a remarkable gift? One that people would kill to have? Why toss it aside so carelessly?" She looked at Lydia in interest, obviously finding Lydia much more interesting than Lydia found Kirsten.

"Because the only thing that it ever did was make people look at me differently," Lydia said quietly. "All it did was push more people away from me." Her thoughts drifted towards Rosewaters Isle, back to how alone and lonely her life had been.

But that was before things had changed. Before Eevee had appeared in her life and she'd become a Pokémon trainer. Maybe things would be different now. Maybe she _should_ practice her power.

"Welcome to the world of psychics, Lydia Talon," Kirsten said with a shrug. "Truth is, we're all different. No point in pretending otherwise. People are always going to treat us differently because of our special abilities. No sense in diminishing our gifts because of that."

Lydia shook her head, exasperated with this girl as she headed out of the tent, her Pokémon at her heels as she walked across the festival, trying to get out of it and head to the Pokémon Centre.

"Hey, Lydia! LYDIA!"

Turning around, she saw Jesse running towards her, his Pokémon right behind him. He slowed to a stop, gasping for breath. "Where have you been?" he asked. "I've been looking for you for hours. Hey, are you okay?" he asked, looking worried. "What's wrong?"

Lydia shook her head. "Nothing," she told him. "Just some psychic trainer I just met." Jesse stared at her. "Listen, I'm just going to head back to the Centre. You can stay, but I think I want to go back."

"I'll come with you."

"No, that's . . . that's sweet, but it's not necessary," Lydia assured him. "I know the way back and you should stay and enjoy yourself."

Jesse sighed and rolled his eyes. "Maybe I _want_ to stay with you," he told her. "The whole point of this festival was to enjoy it together and there's no point in doing it if you're not going to have fun. Come on," he said with a smile as he wrapped his arms around her and they headed back to the Centre. "Let's get out of here."

--

In the end, they went to a park not too far away from the Centre, letting their Pokémon play while their trainers sat on the bench, watching them. "So what exactly did she say to you?" Jesse asked after a long while. "That psychic that you were talking to?"

Lydia sighed. "Nothing, I was just being stupid," she said, shaking her head. Jesse looked at her sideways, a disbelieving smile appearing on his face. "She was just going on about . . . how I don't use my gift and I'm dishonouring my ancestors because of it. That I was different, no matter whether I used my gifts or not. There was no point in not using them, because in the end, I'm always going to be different from everyone else."

"Everybody's different," Jesse pointed out, stretching his arms carelessly. "But you know, she might be right. You've got a gift some people only dream of, Lydia, maybe you should use it more often."

"I know." Lydia's voice was quiet as she spoke. "But I've been denying that part of me for so long, Jess. I'm not sure if I can use it like I could when I was a kid. Besides, I'm . . . there are other things that I want to do. Like getting into the Johto League. There's . . . there isn't enough time for psychic training, not with everything else that we've got going on." She knew that she was trying to convince herself as well as Jesse.

"If you say so," Jesse responded, standing up. "It's your life, Lydia, but even though your powers scare me, I think you're only denying a part of yourself by not using your powers. They're a part of you and they always will be, remember that."

Lydia glanced at him sideways as he dug into his pack. "Weren't you the one who told me that you would only come with me if I promised _not_ to use my powers?" she asked.

"Yeah, well, I know you a little bit better now, Lydia," Jesse responded with a grin. "Besides, as long as you don't use those freaky powers on me or to win gym battles, then we're cool."

With a small nod, Lydia glanced towards her Pokémon, her eyes falling immediately on Cyndaquil, who was playing chase with Eevee and Poliwag. "Do you think that Cyndaquil is going to be all right tomorrow?" she asked, looking up at Jesse. She knew perfectly well that Cyndaquil was her best chance of defeating the gym leader.

Jesse nodded reassuringly. "Yeah, she'll be fine," he told her. "Look at her, she's already relaxed and at play. That's all she needs to be at full recovery. You'll be fine tomorrow."

Lydia nodded once as she watched him dig into his bag. "What are you looking for, anyway?" she asked him.

"Restaurant guide," Jesse said, producing a guidebook with a food symbol on it. "It has all the best restaurants in every city and town in Johto. My eldest sister, Jennie, gave it to me before I left. Mom had just enrolled her in the same school that I was at when I left town. It was her way of telling me that she understood why I was doing it."

"You miss her," Lydia said, picking up on that at once. Jesse said nothing, just stared at the guidebook without even looking up at Lydia. She suppressed a sigh, trying to think about what she could do for him about that, but couldn't come up with anything. "Well, you find anything good?"

Jesse, startled out of his revenue, looked down at the guide, flipping through the pages until he got to Azalea Town. "Uh, let me see here . . ." he said, looking down at the guide. "There's supposed to be a good pizza place not too far from here." He looked up and saw the happy look on Lydia's face and grinned. "Guess it's pizza, then," he said with a laugh.

"You're mean if you're just torturing me," Lydia complained. Pizza was her favourite food in the whole world. "Come on, let's go!"

After the Pokémon had been gathered, they headed over to the pizza parlour on the other edge of town. At the moment, they were no more than just trainers out for a good day. But tomorrow, they would be heading for the battle for their second badges.

--

It was early the next morning when Lydia snuck down to the lobby, heading straight for the phone. She had thought about it all night and this was the only thing she could think of doing, even though she felt a little bad for going behind Jesse's back.

Once she got a hold of the operator and located the Turner number, she dialled it into the phone, waiting for someone in Alyson City to pick up. On the second ring, a female voice answered. "Hello, this is the Turner residence."

"Hello, may I please speak with Jennie?" she asked. This had to be Jesse's mother; she didn't sound very nice.

"One moment." Mrs. Turner put her on hold and Lydia waited patiently, holding Eevee in her lap as Jesse's mother went to go retrieve her oldest daughter, who was probably still asleep. It didn't seem to take very long until another voice came onto the line.

"Hello, this is Jennie?" The girl that appeared on the video looked a lot like Jesse; they had the same green eyes and there were a lot of Jesse's features in her face, but instead of his dark hair, she had long blonde hair that fell down to her waist. She looked at Lydia with interest.

"Hi, Jennie, my name's Lydia Talon. I'm a friend of . . . one of your friends," she finished, realising that her mother could still be on the other line. "Jessica?"

Confusion filled through Jennie's face, then realisation. Her green eyes went wide and she looked around. "Mom, I'm gonna take this upstairs." She was put on hold again and a second later, Jennie reappeared, looking as though she'd just run a marathon. "Oh, thank goodness!" she said. "How's my brother doing? Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine," Lydia told her. "He's asleep right now, but what else is new?" Jennie smirked; apparently Jesse's sleeping habits hadn't changed much. "We're in Azalea Town right now."

"Oh, he's made it that far?" Jennie was smiling as she leaned back. "I'm so glad to hear he's okay. I wish that I could see him—wait, you guys are in Azalea Town right now?"

"Yeah," Lydia answered, bewildered. "After we're done with the gym here, then we'll be heading up to Goldenrod. Why?"

"This is perfect!" Jennie exclaimed. "I'll be in Goldenrod next week doing a field trip with my school. I can tell Mom that you're an old friend of mine and I'd like to see you. She can give me permission to get some time away from the rest of the school—it's a two-day trip, anyway—and then I'll be able to spend some time with my brother!"

"Keep your voice down!" Lydia suggested. Jennie grinned, but conceded her point. "Okay, I think that'll work. We'll be done with the Azalea Gym tomorrow and it shouldn't take us more than three or four days to get through the Ilex Forest. We should in Goldenrod in time to meet you."

Jennie laughed. "I cannot believe that somebody actually had the guts to call here. You do know all about what happened with Jesse and Mom, don't you?" she asked, suddenly worried.

"I know some of it," Lydia admitted. "Jesse wasn't too keen on talking about it. All he told me was that he was enrolled at some elite Pokémon School that his great-uncle got him into. After awhile, he wanted to go off on his own and your mom wasn't too cool with that."

"That's pretty much it, but what he didn't tell you was that Mom disowned him when he told her that. She told him that he couldn't come home, ever, and that she would never again claim him as her son. It was terrible; I can still remember the look of Jesse's face when she said that." Jennie's face was sad. "Jamie's not too happy about it, either, she's with Mom on this one. Sometimes, I think about leaving her and going to find Jesse, but . . ." She sighed. "It'd be easier if I had someone like Jesse does."

Lydia frowned. "Who's he got?" Jennie gave her a look. "Oh, right. Me." She chuckled. "Maybe you should come with us. I know Jesse would love it."

Jennie's eyes bugged. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. The more, the merrier. It'll be nice to have another woman along for the ride."


	14. The Bug Gym

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Fourteen: The Bug Gym

Lydia didn't dare say a word to Jesse about what she'd done that morning, though she did tell him that she'd gotten up early to make a phone call. He didn't ask who, though, no doubt because he assumed it was her uncle's. She hadn't spoken to Jack in over a week, so she probably should call him the next chance that she got.

Both she and Jennie had agreed to make it a surprise for Jesse, so when they got to Goldenrod, they would meet at the Department Store. That was the plan, anyway.

As they headed towards the Azalea Town Gym, Lydia felt somewhat nervous, even more than she had been at the Violet Gym. Maybe it was because she'd never actually used Cyndaquil in battle before, but she was barely able to stand up as they entered the gym. A young woman who was tending to a Beedrill looked up as they entered.

"Trainers?" she inquired. They both nodded. "Bugsy is through there." She pointed through the thick jungle that the gym appeared to be made out of. "Good luck on your battle."

"Thank you," Lydia said politely as she followed Jesse in the direction the woman had pointed. "So, you nervous?"

"Of course not."

"Are you lying?"

"Through my teeth," Jesse responded, shoving his hands into his pockets. Lydia smirked as she wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "I don't suppose that you would want to go first?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "No, I didn't think so. Isn't it supposed to be ladies first?"

"Jeez, Jess. If you're that nervous about it, then I'll go first," Lydia grumbled, shaking her head. He let out a relieved smile. She shook her head as she bent down to Eevee. "Hey, I was going to use Cyndaquil for this match. That's okay, right?"

"Vee!" Eevee gave her an understanding look as she scratched him behind the ears.

"All right, let's go get this over with," Lydia sighed as they entered the arena part of the gym. She gulped as she saw a young man a couple years older than they were with purple hair head over to them.

"You two trainers?" he asked. "I'm Bugsy, the gym leader. Are you both going to challenge me for a badge?"

"Yes, sir," they both said.

"All right, then," Bugsy said and made a sweeping bow towards Lydia. "Ladies first, then." Lydia made a face at Jesse as he went over to the bleachers, sitting down.

Handing over her Pokédex to the judge, Lydia glanced over at Bugsy. "How many Pokémon are we using?" she asked.

"One-on-one," Bugsy responded with a grin towards her. She nodded. "No substitutions."

"Fair enough," she replied as the judge handed her back her Pokédex after entering it into the computer.

"This battle between Lydia Talon of Rosewaters Isle and Gym Leader Bugsy shall now begin!" the judge announced. "Each trainer is allowed one Pokémon each and the battle will be over when either trainer's Pokémon is unable to battle."

"Scyther, let's go!"

"Cyndaquil, come on out!" Lydia threw the Pokéball that contained Cyndaquil just as Scyther appeared on the gym floor, glaring at the tiny fire Pokémon angrily. Giving a small squeak, Cyndaquil looked back at its trainer fearfully. "It's all right, you'll be okay."

"A fire Pokémon, huh?" Bugsy grinned. "You're at least a tad more intelligent than most of the Pokémon trainers that come in here. Still, you haven't won just yet. Scyther, wing attack!"  
"Smokescreen!" Lydia commanded. The thick black smoke that emerged from Cyndaquil stopped Scyther in his tracks, unable to see where it was going. "Now ember!"

Unfortunately, Cyndaquil couldn't see through the smokescreen and the embers just blew into a different direction than where Scyther was standing. Lydia grimaced and Bugsy grinned. "Slash!" he ordered.

"Dodge it!" Lydia shouted. Cyndaquil managed to dodge it, but just barely. Scyther managed to graze it and Cyndaquil cried out. "Oh, no, Cyndaquil!" she exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

The fire Pokémon pushed herself up, a new fire in her eyes that Lydia hadn't seen before. She was ready, she realised, to fight. Not just to defend herself, but to work with the team. "Cyndaquil, flamethrower!" Lydia shouted, praying that it would hit.

It worked. Scyther couldn't avoid fire directly throw at it and the attack was too spread out to avoid. The attack was a direct and it was super effective as Lydia watched with amazement. She had never once seen Cyndaquil pull off a flame thrower that effective before.

Scyther emerged, badly burnt, but collapsed before he could pull off another attack. The judge called, "Scyther is unable to battle! The winner of this match is Lydia Talon of Rosewaters Isle!"

Lydia shrieked, running to Cyndaquil and hoisting her up, swinging her around. "You did it!" she said, hugging the little fire Pokémon. "I'm so proud of you! You did great!"

She looked around at Bugsy, who had recalled Scyther, looking impressed as he surveyed Lydia. "Not bad at all," he commented as Jesse climbed down from the bleachers.

"Nice job," he whispered to Lydia.

"Thanks," she whispered back, grasping his hand gently. "Good luck, Jess." She took his place at the bleachers and both Eevee and Cyndaquil climbed into her lap, watching the match. Petting each of them, Lydia frowned as Bugsy sent out a huge Pokémon that barred its pincers threatening towards Jesse, who stared back calmly. Now that he was in the battle, his nervousness had faded.

"Whoa," Lydia muttered, reaching for her Pokédex, which clicked on the information for the bug Pokémon. "What's that?"

"_Pinsir, the stag beetle Pokémon. Pinsir depends only on its great strength and massive pincers to win a fight. If it can't crush an opponent in its claws, Pinsir will swing the enemy around its head and throw hard._"

Lydia frowned as she slipped the Pokédex back into her pocket. "Hmm, which one are you going to go with, Jess?" she whispered as Jesse reached for a Pokéball. He looked down at it, as if trying to make a decision, then nodded as he threw it.

To Lydia's great surprise, it was not the ghost Pokémon that she'd expected to come out of the ball. "Natu?" she said incredulously, leaning back. Why was he going with Natu? She knew perfectly well that psychics were weak against bugs . . . unless he was relying on Natu's flying attacks to go up against Pinsir. "That has to be it," she whispered.

One of the junior trainers at the gym glanced over at her, smirking. "Apparently, your friend doesn't know what he's doing, little girl," he remarked.

"I'm _not_ a little girl," she said warningly. "And he's been doing this longer that I have. Chances are, he knows _exactly_ what he's doing." _At least, I hope he does,_ she thought.

Bugsy grinned. "I hope that psychic of yours knows what she's doing," he remarked to Jesse, who only smiled. For a moment that contained an eternity, neither trainer moved. Then time started again. "Pinsir, vicegrip!"

"Dodge it!" Jesse yelled and Natu flew up into the air, narrowly missing the pincers. Lydia watched as Natu flew above the bug Pokémon, circling him as she waited for Jesse's command. "Peck!"

"Harden!" Bugsy yelled. Everyone in the gym knew that, as a flying type move, peck was super effective against bugs. Hardening wouldn't stop the attack completely, but it would build up some resistance against it, which would help.

The peck landed accurately and the pincers slashed against each other, frightening the bird psychic off before she finished. Jesse's eyes met Lydia's for a minute and in an instant, she understood exactly what it was he was doing. He hadn't brought Natu out for her flying abilities alone; psychic Pokémon were also capable of learning several ghost-type moves. And there was one that Natu learned at a very low level . . . and Lydia was pretty sure that Natu already knew the move.

"Night shade!" Jesse yelled. Natu's eyes glowed and a dark light surrounded Pinsir, blinding him and rendering him immobile. "All right, now finish him off with a confuse ray!"

That was all it took for Pinsir to start barrelling around, confused enough to hurt himself and Bugsy was forced to recall him to prevent Pinsir from knocking himself out.

"Pinsir has been recalled," the judge called. "The winner of this match goes to Jesse Turner of Alyson Town."

"Way to go, Jess!" Lydia exclaimed, climbing down the bleachers to hug Jesse. He returned the hug, surprising her by swinging her around. "Hey, put me down!"

Jesse looked disappointed, but obeyed as Bugsy walked over to them, reaching into his pocket. "Congratulations," he said, handing each of them a badge. "You have earned these. Miss Talon, you kept a cool head and showed your Pokémon that she had more confidence that she knew. And Mr. Turner, you have proved that types aren't the _only_ thing that matters in a battle." He smiled. "And I'll make sure that the proper amount of money is put into your accounts."

"Thank you," both Lydia and Jesse chorused.

"And if you ever come back to Azalea Town," Bugsy added, "I would love to have a rematch if you want to. Good luck on your journey, the both of you," he told them. "I'll be looking forward to watching your matches in the Silver Conference."

It wasn't until they had reached the gate leading to the Ilex Forest that Lydia finally asked him, "Jesse, did you plan on using Natu from the very beginning?"

"Not really. I was kind of debating between her and Gastly, but I figured that she needed the experience. Not to mention, I knew that she had as good a chance of beating him as Gastly did, because of the flying type moves. To be honest, I was kind of winging it. It wasn't until about fifty seconds before I did it that I remembered about psychics knowing ghost moves."

"Yeah, I completely forgot about that until right before you did it," Lydia said with a laugh. "So, on to Goldenrod, shall we?"

"After you, milady," Jesse said mockingly. She rolled her eyes as she walked past him, heading into the dark and treacherous forest that was the only way to get between the two cities of Azalea and Goldenrod.


	15. Lost in Ilex Forest

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Fifteen: Lost in Ilex Forest

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," Lydia sighed. She and Jesse were sitting in the middle of a clearing within Ilex Forest, with Jesse pouring over the map. At least, he had been. Now, he was looking up at Lydia with an apologetic look on his face. "Again? Jess, this is the third time that you've gotten us lost through here!"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry!" Jesse actually did look apologetic. "But it's not like there's a set path in here. It's all . . . twisted and . . . doesn't make a whole lot of sense," he finished up. Lydia couldn't help it; she started laughing at his description of the woods. Even he grinned. "Okay, well, this map is really hard to read, especially in this light."

Lydia handed over a flashlight and he thumbed in on. "Oh, wow, that's better," he said, grinning. "Thank you."

She rolled her eyes as Eevee walked up next to her, rubbing her leg comfortingly. Lydia reached down and stroked Eevee as she watched Jesse pour over the map, his eyebrows narrowed. "What is it about men and directions?" she mumbled.

"I heard that!" Jesse said, looking annoyed. Lydia shrugged carelessly as she cast a careful look around them, sensing something in the trees. Of course, there were plenty of Pokémon roaming around here, but somehow, she wasn't sure that they were the presence she was sensing.

"Jess," she said quietly. When he didn't look up or even acknowledge her, she said louder, "Jesse." He glanced up, a questioning look on his face and she turned her eyes back towards the woods. "There's something out there," Lydia told him quietly.

"It's a forest, Lydia, there's probably thousands upon thousands of Pokémon in here, probably some trainers too," Jesse pointed out, looking back down at the map.

Lydia wanted to smack him, but restrained herself as she stood up, walking away carefully. She could still sense someone in the forest and she wasn't sure if they were an ally or not. After two run-ins with that Alicia Knightly girl, she wasn't going to take any chances.

"I'm telling you, there's somebody out there," Lydia insisted. Jesse sighed, glancing up at her and frowned slightly towards the woods. "I can _sense_ somebody out there, Jess."

He stood up, folding the map up and slipping it into his pocket as he pointed her towards the—hopefully—right path. "Well, then, let's keep moving," he said quietly. "I'm positive that it's this way."

"That's what you said last time," Lydia replied, rolling her eyes. "And the time before that . . . and the time before that."

"Uh-huh. And what about the time before that?" Jesse was smirking now while Eevee watched his trainer and Jesse with amusement.

"Um . . . I think your words then were 'let's try this way. Should be the right way'." Lydia grinned as she heard rustling in the bushes and she whirled around, blue eyes flashing as she searched the surroundings. "All right, we know that somebody's there, so just come on out!"

A hooting emerged from the bushes and both Lydia and Jesse stared at each other as a bird came floating out of the bushes, landing before them. "What the—" Jesse said incredulously. "A Hoothoot! I forgot about those! They're good for getting you through forests and stuff 'cause they can see through the dark and stuff."

"Okay, that's great," Lydia said thankfully. She bent down to the bird so that they were at eye level. "Can you lead us out of here?"

"Hoot-hoot," he hooted and flew up into the air, leading the two trainers out of the forest. Lydia couldn't believe their luck; they had managed to find a guide that would lead them out of the dark forest.

It wasn't long before they were looking at the gates to Goldenrod City and approaching a house that had an old man gardening in it. He looked around as they approached and grinned. "Well, well, Tooter," he remarked. "Where have you been? And you brought friends with you, too? Hello, there," he said to Lydia and Jesse. "I apologise for any mischief that he's caused."

"Oh, no, he was no trouble at all," Lydia assured him. "Actually, he was the one who got us out of Ilex Forest. We were kind of lost."

"Hmm, so that's where he took off too. Not too surprising, though, because that's his home. That's where I caught him, near thirty years ago." Lydia and Jesse stared at the Hoothoot; he didn't appear to be that old. "Well, you two trainers? Heading for Goldenrod?"

"Yes, sir," Lydia answered.

"Well, good luck to you," he said. "Whitney's no easy victory. She fights hard, even though all of her Pokémon are normal. You'd better work hard if you want a chance to beat her."

They thanked him and were just about to head on their way when a car came barrelling out of nowhere, narrowly avoiding the two young trainers. Lydia pushed Jesse out of the way before diving out of the way herself. She cried out as she landed on her wrist, pain surging through it. The car paid no mind as it continued on its way, ignoring them.

"Lydia!" Jesse exclaimed, hurrying towards her. "Are you okay?" He helped her to her feet.

"No," she muttered, gingerly flexing her fingers back and forth, testing her wrist carefully. Excruciating pain emerged from this gesture and held her injured wrist painfully as she looked at her friend. "I don't think so. I think I twisted my wrist."

The old man had dropped his spade and was hurrying over to them, muttering about teenagers and driving as he inspected her wrist carefully. "I don't think it's broken," he said kindly. "All the same, let's get you inside. No sense going to Goldenrod with that wrist in the rain," he added, glancing up at the sky. "My wife will take care of that wrist of yours."

"Thank you," Lydia said, relieved as she bent down to pick up her backpack, which she had dropped. Jesse beat her to it, though, and swung it over his shoulder with his own. She shook her head, but smiled at him as she followed the old man into his house.

--

The old man's name was Maurice Lecher and his wife was a jolly, good-natured woman named Alice. She immediately wrapped Lydia's hand up in ice, letting it return to its former size before she bandaged it up. "Don't take this off until you can move it on your own," she warned her. Lydia nodded reassuringly and thanked her. Satisfied, Alice stood up and headed into the kitchen. "Anyone hungry?" she asked just as thunder started to rumble outside and rain splattered on the windows. "Oh, Jesse, be a dear and go help Maurice bring in the Pokémon, will you?"

"How many do you have?" Lydia asked as she tried to help Alice with the cooking, unsuccessfully.

"Not with that wrist, you're not going to be helping out," she said sternly, then smiled. "And they're not all ours, not all of them. A lot of them were abandoned or their trainers were killed. So, we bring in as many as we can and try and help them find good homes." Eevee looked happy about this as he scampered away into the next room, where the Pokémon were appearing.

"Eevee!" Lydia said, laughing, but she didn't stop him. There were at least thirty of them, all of them soaking wet from the storm that raged outside. Eevee seemed to enjoy talking with them and after permission from the Lechers, Lydia and Jesse sent their Pokémon out to get acquainted with them.

After the Pokémon had been fed, the four humans sat down at the dinner table for a meal of Alice's fine cooking. "This is delicious, Mrs. Lecher," Lydia told her as she finished. Her arm wasn't as swollen as it had been a couple of hours ago, but it still hurt a little bit.

"Yeah, it's too bad we can't get great cooking like this on the road," Jesse added with a smirk at Lydia. She did the mature thing and stuck her tongue out at him, to which Maurice and Alice laughed.

"Hey, I cook it just fine," she told him, crossing her arms across her chest. "And I can't help but notice that I'm the one who always gets stuck with the cooking."

"That's because I _can't_ cook," Jesse responded just as Lydia felt someone climbing up onto her chair and settling themselves into her lap. She stopped arguing with Jesse as she looked down and saw a Cubone sitting contently in her lap.

"Well, hello there," she said with a smile while the Lechers looked at the Cubone in surprise, startled that he was sitting there. Cubone, however, was perfectly happy sitting there.

"That's shocking," Maurice said, shaking his head. "Cubone hasn't opened up to anyone ever since he came here. Not even to Alice and me," he added, looking towards his wife sadly.

"Why?" Lydia wanted to know, looking towards them as she pat Cubone on the head. He seemed to genuinely like her, she thought as he snuggled closer into her lap. "What happened?"

"Not a happy story, that one," Maurice murmured, glancing towards Alice. She gave a small nod at him and he looked back at the trainers. "You see, I was out with Tooter one day in the woods. He'd run off again, that pesky little Hoothoot," he grumbled.

Alice placed her hand on her husband's shoulder as she picked up the story. "There was a Marowak under attack in the woods," she explained, looking sadly at Cubone. "Some Beedrill were threatened by her presence and decided to drive her out of the forest. But she was too badly injured as she crawled to her hiding place . . . and died there." She paused as Lydia clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle her gasp. "Cubone was there as his mother died and we promise his mother that we would find a good trainer to take care of him and until then, we would take good care of her."

"That's so sad," Lydia whispered as she cradled Cubone in her arms. He seemed delighted by this. Maurice nodded as he continued to watch Lydia hold Cubone. "You poor thing," she told him. "It's all right, Cubone, I know just how you feel. I lost my mother, too."

"Cu-Cubone! Bone!" Cubone was looking up at her with the sad eyes and she felt her heart break as she looked down at him.

"Lydia," Maurice said slowly as he watched them. She looked around at him curiously. "You're the first person that Cubone has actually responded to and genuinely liked. Would you mind terribly taking him with you? I think he would be happy with you."

"That's a great idea!" Jesse said with a grin. "I saw him with Eevee and the others earlier and they seemed right at home with each other. They're already getting along."

Looking towards the Lechers, Lydia asked slowly, "Are you sure that it's okay? I mean . . . this is his home."

"We have these Pokémon here so that we can find them good homes," Alice told her. "It is a wonderful day when one of the Pokémon here finds a good and caring trainer. And the both of you have portrayed that. I'm sure that we have some Pokémon here that might interest you, Jesse . . ." she added, glancing over her shoulder. "Let's see . . . what about Totodile? You don't have a water type yet and you seemed to connect with her earlier."

"Yeah, she seems great," Jesse said, looking thrilled. "But . . . I mean, I can really have her?"

"Of course," Maurice said gruffly. "Alice is right; it's a great day when these Pokémon find homes. And those two would be happy going with you on your journey. Just promise us you'll take care of them."

"Oh, we will!" Lydia assured him. Jesse nodded. "We promise."

AN: Okay, guys, I've only been getting one review on the past couple chapters and I really need more than that to keep me inspired enough to keep going. If you guys can please just put at least three reviews, I will be inspired enough to continue the story. So please, please, please review!


	16. Jesse's Mother

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Sixteen: Jesse's Mother

With Cubone and Totodile as their newest companions, Lydia and Jesse started out once again on the road the morning after they met the Lechers. Cubone and Totodile had a tearful goodbye from Maurice and Alice as they headed towards Goldenrod City, the festive city of opulent charm. The moment that they entered into the city, Lydia was stunned into silence for a moment, gaping at the huge city around them, her light brown hair whipping around her as she whirled around, taking in the humongous buildings.

"Whoa," she muttered as Jesse stood, grinning like a Cheshire Cat nearby. "I've never seen so tall buildings in my life!"

"Country girl," he teased her. She glared at him, giving him a threatening look and he backed up a few steps. "All right, all right, I'm done. So I guess we should try and find the Pokémon Centre before we start looking around here, what do you think?"

"Definitely," Lydia said with a small smile. Jennie should already be there, waiting for them at the department store. They had arrived right on schedule, which was unusual for them. Jesse tended to slow things down a bit. "Let's go check out the department store, all right?"

Jesse groaned, looking extremely upset. "I am not carrying anything," he said warningly. "If you buy anything, then you're going to carry it. Under no circumstances will I carry anything."

"Okay, first of all, I don't need a whole lot," she told him. "Second of all, I am not like other girls. After all this time, I would think that you would understand that. Third of all, I actually do need some new clothes." She looked down at the ragged hand-me-downs that she'd gotten from the Pokémon Centre back on Rosemary Isle.

Taking one look at her, Jesse looked back at Lydia and sighed. "Okay, point taken," he said. "But if you buy anything, I'm not carrying it."

Giving up on convincing him otherwise, Lydia walked through the streets with Eevee trailing after her. "Come on already, let's go find the Pokémon Centre, Jess," she sighed. If they didn't hurry, then they were going to be late meeting Jennie. Not that Jesse knew that.

"What's the big hurry for?" Jesse wanted to know, obviously picking up on something. "Honestly, Lydia, we're going to be here for a couple of days, so we've got plenty of time to look around."

Lydia sighed and turned around. "Well, Jess, there's something that I have to tell you," she said seriously. Jesse raised an eyebrow and waited. She grinned. "We are in desperate need of potions and antidotes, okay? And there are a billion other things that we need, so we should probably jump on things before we run out of time."

"Run out of time for what?" Jesse asked, scratching his head in confusion at her. "Lydia, you're talking like a crazy person. What's going on?"

"You'll find out in a little bit," she told him. Jesse shook his head as they walked through the city, finally locating the Pokémon Centre. Lydia was flipping through some Pokémon magazines in the waiting room while they waited as Jesse walked over to her.

"Okay, so what's really going on?" he asked her. She looked up at him curiously; how much had he guessed? she wondered. "You've been jittery ever since we got to Goldenrod, Lydia. You keep biting your lip, looking at your watch, and not to mention, are being downright stubborn about going to the department store right after this. What's going on?"

Lydia sighed; he was right, she should tell him the truth. "Okay, but you have to promise that you're not going to be mad at me."

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"Promise," she reminded him. Jesse narrowed his eyes slightly at her, but relented.

"All right, I promise," he said, holding up his hand. "Scout's honour, I will not get mad at you, no matter what."

_Five minutes later . . ._

"YOU DID WHAT?"

Lydia winced at his raised voice and glanced towards the curious looks of the other trainers who were wondering what the commotion was about. "Okay, Jess, you promise that you were not going to get mad at me," she reminded him.

"That was before I found out that you were interfering with my private life," Jesse hissed at her. He wasn't just mad; he was furious. "Lydia, what is wrong with you? Did it not occur to you that Jennie might just be coming here to tell me how badly I screwed things up and look around at how I've turned out, telling me I made the wrong decision?"

"She's not going to do that," Lydia said firmly, reaching to take his hand into hers. He yanked his hand away, refusing to look at her. "Jesse, listen to me. I'm sorry, okay? I just . . . you seemed so miserable that I just wanted things to go better for you. And if it was the wrong decision, then I'm sorry. At the very least, let's just go see her. If she's a bad as you say that she is, then I promise you that I will fix the mess that I made, okay?" She tried to make him look at her and reluctantly, Jesse raised his head to turn his green eyes to her blue ones. "Jess, please. Don't do it for me, okay? Do it for yourself. I promise, if I'm wrong about her, I will fix it."

Jesse sighed, placing his head in his hands. "I don't know," he admitted with a sigh. "I cannot believe that you did this."

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I really am. I was just trying to do something for you."

"Right, how about when I do something nice for you, I'll kidnap you and dump you back at Rosewaters Isle?" Jesse said sharply. Lydia flinched; apparently, he was still mad at her. He sighed. "I didn't that mean that."

Lydia nodded once, placing her hands into his. "No, you didn't," she agreed, "but I think I'll let this one slide, considering that I sprung this one on you without notice." Jesse glanced at her and side. "How about I go and talk to Jennie, then we meet up for lunch?" He hesitated. "I'll go inside her mind if you want me to," she offered.

Jesse actually smiled at that. "No, that's okay," he admitted. "I'll go with you, but you can't leave me alone with her, deal?"

She smiled, slapping his hand in truce. "Deal," she agreed.

--

"So, where's she supposed to be at?" Jesse asked nervously as they climbed the stairs through the department store, heading for the roof. He had been a nervous wreck ever since they'd called a cease fire.

"We're supposed to meet her at the food court," she answered, pushing open the door that led to the roof. There were several food stands that had everything from burgers and fries to candy to drinks. "Here, I'll go get us some drinks, all right?"

"Sure," Jesse said, sticking his hands in his pockets. "I'll take a root beer. Or a Coke, if they don't have that." Lydia nodded as she headed to a stand that sold drinks, purchasing a root beer for Jesse and a Sprite for herself.

When she got back to Jesse, he was standing exactly where she had left him, his gaze hard and fixed as a woman stood there, talking. Lydia's heart stopped as she realised who this was.

" . . . it's bad enough that you had to completely ruin the plan that we had set out for you, young man, but to drag Jennifer down with you is completely unacceptable," Mrs. Turner was saying as she hurried forward, rejoining Jesse.

"Hey," she said breathlessly. "What's going on?" Jesse looked up at her as she pressed the drink onto him. "How do you do, ma'am? I'm Ly—"

"I really could care less who you are, girl," Mrs. Turner said coldly before turning her head back to her son. "You have humiliated this family twice over, Jesse, and now you just expect me to just lie down and take it when you've tried to corrupt your sister?"

"He didn't—"

"Stay out of this, you interfering little brat!" Mrs. Turner snapped, rounding on her. "This is a family matter and you would understand that if you had one!"

The blood drained from Lydia's face so dramatically that she thought that she was going to faint. She froze on the spot, staring up Mrs. Turner's cruel, hateful face as tears started to form in her eyes. It wasn't until she felt Jesse's hand touch her shoulder that she realised that he was glaring at his mother with utmost fury.

"Hey," he said in a cold, threatening voice, "don't talk to her like that." Mrs. Turner scoffed and turned away. "I mean it."

"Yes, and I suppose this girl is the reason why you threw everything away?" Mrs. Turner said, surveying her critically. "I shall talk to her how I see fit. Honestly, Jesse, I never understood you, not even once. You were born into a family that has given you everything that you could have ever wanted and all we asked for in return was a little respect. Which you gave us until this girl warped and twisted your mind."

"I left before I even met Lydia!" Jesse was glaring at his mother, as if standing up to her for the first time. And maybe it was. "Besides, you didn't give me everything, Mother! You just pushed everything off on your uncle after Dad left, ignoring all of us! Mom, you don't even know me, if you did then you wouldn't be accusing me of corrupting my sister!"

"How dare—?"

"Yeah, I dare," Jesse snarled. "I dare a lot. Listen, Mom, we are never going to settle our differences. I understood that a long time ago. But sooner or later, Jennie is going to figure out that if she goes along with the plan you've got for her, then she's not going to be living her life anymore. And when she does, then she's going to stand up for herself. You might want to try letting her live her own life."

"You miserable, pathetic excuse for a son," Mrs. Turner hissed. "I was right when I disowned you. If you ever come near my daughters, then I will personally have you arrested. Both you and that stupid girl of yours," she added, glancing sideways at Lydia, who stood staring at this exchange in shock. "Be grateful that I'm not doing that now."

"Don't call her that!" Jesse was shouting now. "Listen, Mom, you can call me pathetic if you want to. You can say that I'm corrupting my sisters and that I was never worth any of your time if you want. But don't ever call Lydia stupid, do you hear me?" Mrs. Turner stared at him. "She has been more kind-hearted and more compassionate than you have ever been to me in my whole life."

Mrs. Turner stood there, gaping like a Magicarp for a few minutes, then shook her head. "I should have let your father take you with him, like he wanted to," she muttered. Jesse froze. Lydia stared at her. "Do not try and call my daughters again, do you hear me? If you do, you'll only make things worse for yourself, boy. As for you, girl," she added, turning towards Lydia. "This is my only warning to you."

Before either Jesse or Lydia could move, Mrs. Turner struck her across the face so hard that Lydia actually stumbled back into some tables.

"LYDIA!" Jesse ran to her, kneeling down beside her and looking terrified. "Are you all right?" She nodded, accepting his help. Eevee was growling at Mrs. Turner, his back arched as a few people crowded around her, shouting for someone to call the police.

Mrs. Turner yanked free from the crowd, turning her back on her son and his friend as she walked away, leaving Jesse and Lydia alone again. Lydia touched her cheek before looking at Jesse.

"I'm sorry," Jesse said quietly.

"Don't," Lydia said just as quietly as Eevee returned to them. She bent down and picked him up, petting him. "It was my fault, anyway. I was the one who called Jennie." Unable to look at Jesse as she said this, Lydia looked away, sitting down at the table.

Jesse picked up the Sprite she'd dropped and sat it in front of her before taking the seat across from her. "But you didn't deserve _that_," he said softly, looking at her. "Lydia, nobody deserves that. Mom's just being the miserable, bitter woman that she usually is." She looked up at him and saw the look on his face. "I'm glad that you called Jennie. Granted, I would loved for her to be here instead of with Mom, but . . . at least I know she still cares."

Lydia nodded, smiling at Jesse. "Well, at least one good thing came from today," she remarked. Jesse chuckled and nodded. "And thank you."

"For what?"

"For defending me like you did," Lydia answered. "Your mom was in a little bit of a shock when you did, though. You would think it was the first time somebody stood up to her."

"It's the first time I ever have," Jesse admitted. "But you're the first real friend I've ever had, Lydia. And my mother is not going to treat you like that." He stood up. "Come on," he said, extending his hand. "Don't you need some new clothes."

"No," Lydia said, shaking her head. "I've already put you through enough today, Jess. We can do it another time."

"Lydia." Jesse looked at her severely. "Come on, we're here. What's done is done. Let's just get this over worth so we can have some fun in this town." She smiled and laughed. "Let's go."


	17. Walking into a Trap

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Seventeen: Walking into a Trap

It didn't take long for Lydia to find a new outfit that she was reasonably comfortable with. Dark blue jeans, as her usual style, she just needed some new ones because the ones she had were wearing in, and a light blue shirt that matched her eyes perfectly. She also bought a new jacket, though it was similar to the one she already had, just not as worn.

To Jesse's relief, they were out of the clothes department in ten minutes and went through the check out with a breeze. After they were done with Lydia's shopping, they headed downstairs to check out some potions and antidotes, as they were running a bit low on supplies. Lydia left Jesse at one point to go look at some TMs that were on sale, inspecting each of them carefully.

"What are you looking for?" Jesse asked, appearing suddenly beside her. He was carrying a load of various supplies in a basket and was looking down at her curiously.

"Um . . . well, I was trying to find Eevee some kind of move that he wasn't going to learn on his own," Lydia confessed. "He's been really depressed lately, because Poliwag's been learning all kinds of different attacks and Cyndaquil managed to take down Scyther all by herself, with just one attack. Not to mention, Cubone . . ." She sighed. "He's got that really powerful headbutt attack that won three matches in a row on the way here."

Jesse nodded, rolling his eyes. On the way here, they had battled a few trainers who wanted some experience before taking on Whitney. In an effort to work with Cubone, Lydia had been using him a lot, trying to get him some experience, but it was clear that he didn't need it. With both headbutt and the bone club, he usually won against his opponent in just a few attacks.

"He's been feeling that jealous, has he?" Jesse teased. Eevee just walked over to Lydia, rubbing her ankles hopefully. "Well, let's see here . . . what kind of move are we talking about?"

"Dunno . . ." Lydia admitted. "Probably something that will hold up pretty good in the next gym battle. Maurice told us that Whitney's really good, so it should probably be something that normal Pokémon are weak against."

"What about iron tail?" Jesse suggested, picking up one TM marked 23. "It's a steel type attack and those work really well against normal types. I'd suggest shadow ball, but that's a ghost type move and it's not going to have any effect against normal types, so this is the next best thing."

"Iron tail, huh?" Lydia took it and bent down to Eevee, holding it out for him to sniff. "What do you think, buddy? Want to try this one out?" she asked when he looked up at her happily. "All right, then. I guess that's everything that we need, then."

"Hold on a sec," Jesse said, bending down to pick up a TM labelled 10. "Here we go. Hidden power," he explained to Lydia, who looked towards it curiously. "Gastly's in desperate need of some help in this one."

"You're gonna use him, huh?"

"Well, normal moves don't do any damage to ghosts," Jesse pointed out simply as they walked through the check out.

There was a long silence as they walked through the line, Jesse picking up some candy bars and tossing them into the cart. He looked deeply perturbed about something and Lydia had the feeling she knew exactly what he was thinking about. But she didn't press him; if there was one thing she had learned from the past day, it was that he had to deal with his family in his own way, in his own time.

But at least he talked to her about it. "Lydia," he said after a long moment, "do you think she was telling the truth?"

"Your mom?" she guessed and he nodded. "You mean, about her telling you that your dad wanted you?" He nodded again. Lydia sighed. "I don't know, Jess, I mean I really don't know her."

"Take a guess, then," he challenged her. "Your predictions always seem to turn out accurate." She smiled slightly and tried to think about what she knew, and what Mrs. Turner had said.

"Probably," she said at long last. "I mean, people usually say things that they don't mean to say when they're angry or spiteful."

"Or both," Jesse muttered under his breath. Lydia smiled faintly and nodded. "But why didn't he stay around, if he wanted me and my sisters? I don't get why he left us, if that's the case."

"Why don't you ask him?" Lydia asked him. He stared at her. "Look, I know that Turner isn't an unusual name, but there's got to be some way to find him and talk to him, Jess."

"I don't even remember his first name," Jesse protested. "Lydia, I was only six when he left." The look on his face clearly said that he was trying to remember and failing miserably.

"So we'll get a list of anybody with the last name of Turner and call each of them, seeing if your dad's one of them," Lydia suggested brightly. Jesse smiled faintly, but shook his head. "Come on, Jesse, there's bound to be someone who knows where to find him—"

"Lydia, drop it!" Jesse snapped. Instantly, Lydia felt bad for pushing the subject and she looked away. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap." He sighed. "It's just been a long day."

With a nod, Lydia placed a hand on his shoulder. "What do you say we grab a bite to eat after this?" she asked. "You hungry? What do you want? It's my treat," she added. "Don't bother trying to protest, Turner, it's not going to do any good."

--

They were eating through their lunch at a café downtown with their Pokémon sitting around them, making their way through the Pokémon food, when Lydia glanced up, catching that same familiar presence that she had felt back in Ilex Forest. Jesse sighed, seeing the look on her face. "Now what?" he wanted to know.

"Unless you want to know that I'm sensing that presence again, then don't ask," Lydia told him. Jesse grimaced as he cast a careful glance around them as Lydia stood up, looking at the people that were passing them in Goldenrod. "I've felt it before, back in Ilex Forest. And it seemed familiar then, Jess. Whoever it is that's following us, we've met them before."

"Yeah, so where are they?" Jesse asked, glancing around them. "Lydia, you might as well sit down. You're looking like a lunatic, standing up and looking at the crowd."

Lydia stuck her tongue out at him as she sat down, continuing to look at the crowd. Deciding to try something, Lydia touched her temples, focusing her psychic energy towards the crowd, searching for the person who was following them, to track where they were.

"They're close," she whispered softly, perfectly aware that Jesse was shifting in his seat nervously. She ignored him, though. "If I had to take a guess, then I'd say that—"

"Say what, psychic?"

Lydia whirled around at the sound of the voice that spoke, recognising it instantly. Cyndaquil squeaked in alarm as she ran to hide behind her trainer, scared of the young girl that stood behind them. Jesse stood up, his green eyes menacing as he glared at her. Only Lydia kept her calm as she looked towards Alicia Knightly, hardly surprised that it was her that was following them.

Alicia didn't look happy as she looked towards them, a scowl etched onto her features. "I can't believe how unbelievably hard it was just to track the two of you down," she commented. "And you know, it's really just a waste of my time, time that could be better spent."

"So, then why are you following us?" Lydia wondered as she placed her hands on her hips, raising her eyebrows at Alicia.

"Oh, I'm just here long enough to set the record straight," Alicia responded, throwing a sheet of her blonde hair back across her shoulders. "Then I'm history after I deal with the two of you and make sure you never deal in my business again."

"What do you mean, 'set the record straight'?" Jesse demanded, staring her down as Lydia folded her arms across her chest.

Alicia's evil smile spread across her face as she withdrew one of the Pokéballs that she was carrying. Lydia stared at her, then shook her head. "No way," she responded, glaring at her. "I'm not going to have a Pokémon battle to settle our own personal differences."

"You don't have much of a choice there, Talon," Alicia replied, snapping her fingers. Lydia glanced around as the waiters and waitresses crowded around the two trainers, sneering at them. They'd walked right into a trap, she realised. "Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. It's your choice. I'd rather do things the easy way, but—"

"There's no way that we're going to play by your games," Jesse retorted. "Totodile, water gun!"

"You too, Poliwag!" Lydia told her water Pokémon. "Cubone, bone club! Cyndaquil, flame thrower!" The Pokémon did as their trainer instructed and Eevee looked up at Lydia, giving her the sad eyes look. She smiled slightly; now was the perfect time to see if that TM had worked. "Eevee, it's now or never. Iron tail!"

Eevee sprung into action, leaping into the air and landing precisely on Alicia with his tail. She shrieked, knocked off her feet. "Everybody, return!" Lydia commanded, calling her Pokémon back into their Pokéballs as she scooped up Eevee. "Jess, let's go!"

"No problem!" he yelled back to her as he recalled his own and hurried towards her. Before they could reach the entrance, however, a Flareon appeared right in front of them, using his flame thrower to stop the two in their tracks. Lydia shrieked as Jesse seized her, drawing her against him to protect them both from the flames.

"Did you really think that we weren't expecting you to try and escape?" Alicia asked, appearing from the smoke, looking a bit dishevelled, but otherwise unhurt. "Or were you simply naïve enough to think that you stood a chance against us?"

"Well, considering that we've managed to thwart you twice before . . ." Lydia replied, but Jesse clamped a hand over her mouth to stop her from saying anything more. She scowled at him when he let her go.

Alicia smirked slightly as she turned away. "The daughter of Rosemary Talon," she said softly and Lydia glanced at her. "Did you know that our boss has taken a great interest in your demise? We would be rewarded greatly if we were to bring him your head."

"Ew," Lydia muttered.

"I wonder what a good little girl like you could have possibly done to cause such an enemy with one of ours," Alicia murmured as she patted Flareon on the head. "I see that you haven't evolved your Eevee yet. Don't you know that the more that they evolve, the more powerful they become?"

"Pokémon aren't ours to own," Lydia snapped. "They make their own choices. If Eevee wants to evolve, that's fine with me. But if he wants to stay the way that he is, then I'm fine with that too. They are our friends, not our servants. And I will not let you hurt my friends."

Looking positively disgusted with Lydia, Alicia shrugged. "Fine, have it your way, then," she said, looking towards Flareon. "Take care of them, Flareon, will you?"

"Wartortle, water gun attack!" a female voice rang out and a burst of water hit the Pokémon head on as a Wartortle appeared, along with the last person on earth that Lydia had expected to rescue them.

Jennie Turner.


	18. Battle Between Rivals

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Eighteen: Battle Between Rivals

Lydia was half-stunned as she stared at the eleven-year-old who stood before them, her green eyes glittering dangerously as she stared down Alicia, who was shocked at her sudden appearance. Her blonde hair, which had been long when Lydia had seen her on the video, had been trimmed short, right above her shoulders.

"Jennie!" Jesse exclaimed, looking enthralled to see his sister. He rushed forward and she leaped into his arms, letting him swing her around. Alicia looked bewildered and exasperated as he let her down. "I don't believe this! What are you doing here? I thought Mom—"

"Long story," she replied with a smirk. Then she reconsidered. "No, actually, it's short. Mom had me in the limo when she found out what I was up to, then she went back to go tell you off, leaving me on my own. I told the driver that I needed to go to the bathroom and took off before he realised what I was doing. Then I got back here before Mom realised that I was gone and laid low until she left town. She's gone by now and is probably writing up the disowning papers as we speak."

"Honestly, Jen," Jesse sighed, shaking his head at his little sister. "You know better than to take off in the middle of a strange town, alone." Then he cocked his head, staring at her. "Hey, you cut your hair!"

"Yeah, you like it?"

"Uh, guys?" Lydia interrupted. They looked around at her. "Escape time now, catch up time later." Jesse grinned slightly at her and Jennie chuckled as her brother let go. "Okay, now back to you," she added, looking to Alicia. "I want to know what you want with me and now."

"Revenge is sweet," Alicia said with a smirk. "You didn't think that I would actually let you get away with it, did you? This country is not big enough for the both of us, Talon. And one of us is going to stop embarrassing ourselves with the worthless Pokémon training."

"Really?" Lydia asked dryly. "You're going to stop training? Oh, Alicia, that's too bad. I was really looking forward to beating you at the Silver Conference." She smiled pleasantly as Alicia glared at her. "But you know, a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do."

Alicia laughed. "For once, I agree with you," she said, nodding towards Flareon. "Now, it's time for you to see the full power of an Eevee evolution, Talon. It's time to battle and this time, you won't be running away from me."

Lydia was about to reply when Eevee jumped from her arms, growling at Alicia and talking to Flareon. Whatever he said, Flareon didn't appreciate it. She snarled and blew a flame thrower towards Eevee, who dodged it. "Eevee!" Lydia called. "You don't have to do this, you know."

Eevee looked at her and shook his head. "Eevee! Vee, Ee Eevee!" he exclaimed, bouncing up and down to Lydia. She understood what he was saying; he wanted to battle to prove to Alicia that un-evolved Pokémon could battle just as well as evolved ones. And he wanted to defend her honour and right to be a Pokémon trainer. Walking up to her, he nuzzled her as she hugged him tightly, unshed tears in her eyes.

"All right, Eevee," she whispered. "You win. It's your choice." She pushed away the tears in her eyes and looked up towards Alicia, who was looking at the two of them in curiosity. "Fine, Alicia," she said, standing up with Eevee in her arms. "You want to battle? Fine. But if I win, then you're going to tell me everything that I want to know about you, who you work for, and what you mean to accomplish."

"And if I win?" Alicia asked, an almost pleased look crossing her face. "What do I get if I win?"

"You won't be winning," Lydia told her. Alicia scoffed and looked away, obviously not happy with that scenario. "But in the off chance that you do, then you get me." Silence fell over the room. "You get to take me to your boss and he can do whatever he wants to me. Kill me, turn me into one of his pathetic agents, I don't care. Do we have an agreement?"

"Lydia, no!" Jesse exclaimed, grabbing her arm. "What do you think that you're doing?"

"Don't worry, Jess," she whispered to him. Her blue eyes met his green ones. "She won't be winning this round." Looking around at her best friend and Jennie, she said firmly, "If I'm ever going to prove my worth, then I am going to have to battle her. This . . ." She sighed. "This is something that I _have_ to do."

"Jesse . . ." Jennie placed a hand on her brother's arm and he glanced at her quickly. "Let her do this. She has to prove something to herself and Alicia. Didn't you have to do that, when you left to go on your Pokémon journey?" She smiled at her brother as his shoulders sank.

He looked towards Lydia. "You're the first real friend that I've ever had," he said quietly. "I don't want to lose you."

Lydia smiled at him, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed his cheek. "You won't," she whispered. "I promise. Ice cream after the match for victory, all right?" she said with a grin. Jesse smiled and looked down as she walked towards Alicia. "Two on two, all right?"

"One on one," Alicia said calmly. "Your precious Eevee against my Flareon. It's the only way to prove to you that evolved Pokémon have much more power than un-evolved ones."

"Fine," Lydia said.

"Do you really think that she can win this?" Lydia heard Jesse ask his sister in the background.

"Don't worry, big brother," Jennie said dryly. "I think with the promise of ice cream, she'll win this match."

"I heard that!" she said, making a face towards the two siblings. Jesse chuckled and Jennie shrugged. "All right, Eevee, let's go!"

"Flareon, go!" Alicia shouted. "Flame thrower!"

"Dodge with quick attack!" Lydia yelled, using the same move that she'd used back at the Violet City Gym. Eevee disappeared, only reappearing for short moments, too fast for Flareon to see where Eevee had gone. Lydia grinned. "Good! Now, take down!"

"Leer!" Alicia shrieked.

"Sand-attack!" Lydia commanded. Eevee turned around and kicked sand into his opponent's eyes so she was unable to use the leer attack. "Good job, Eevee! Ready to give up?" she asked Alicia.

Alicia merely laughed. "Now why would I want to do a stupid thing like that?" she wanted to know. "Boys, it's time to join the fun!"

"Hey, three against one is cheating!" Lydia snapped as two more Pokémon appeared. The two trainers laughed as an Electabuzz and a Graveller glared down at the little fox Pokémon as Lydia glared at them. Putting Eevee against three Pokémon wasn't fair; it wasn't even legal! "You're not allowed to call in more Pokémon during a match!"

"Well, I'm making the rules here and what I say goes," Alicia snapped, glaring at her. "And I say that we can put in any more Pokémon that we want to, Talon. And there's nothing that you can do about it."

"Well if those are the rules," Jennie announced, "then anybody can join in, can't they? Wartortle!" she called and the turtle Pokémon was sent into the match. "Help out Eevee!"

"You, too, Ivysaur!" Jesse called, throwing the Pokéball into the air and Ivysaur emerged, glaring towards Electabuzz while Wartortle went straight for Graveller. "Razor leaf!"

"Water gun!" Jennie called.

The water soaked Graveller down, weakening him, while the leaves hit Electabuzz on the mark, sending him flying. "Eevee!" Lydia called, knowing that enough time had been spent between the two attacks. She smiled pleasantly at Alicia. "Iron tail!"

Eevee squealed as he leaped into the air, his fluffy tail glowing white before he hit the mark. Flareon shrieked in surprise as the iron tail attack hit and he was flung backwards.

"Flareon, get up!" Alicia shrieked, her eyes wide. "What do you think I'm training you for?" She had her mouth open as Flareon struggled to get up, then collapsed onto the ground.

Shaking with rage, Alicia recalled Flareon and turned towards Lydia, a furious look on her face. "You little—" she began, but stopped talking when the most incredible thing in the world happened, the very last thing that any of them were expecting, least of all Lydia.

A white light surrounded Eevee, making his entire body glow. Lydia took a step back in surprise, unable to stare at anything else, and knew that everyone was just as shocked at the events as she was. He grew bigger and stood taller than he had been a minute ago. The brown fur turned to black and yellow rings surrounded his tail, ears, forehead and legs. She stared at her Pokémon as the glowing vanished and he blinked up at her, his brown eyes having turned red.

"Umbreon," he said as Lydia dropped to her knees in a mixture of shock and wonderment. He walked over to Lydia and she hugged him tightly.

"This is unbelievable," she whispered. "Eevee . . . Umbreon, I thought that you didn't want to evolve."

"Bre! Umbreon!" Her newly evolved Pokémon began explaining that he did want to evolve, at the right time, when he was ready. And this had been the time; he just needed to prove himself that he could win a match against a Flareon, which his former trainer had wanted him to evolve into. It was just something that he needed to prove to himself. Now that he had done that, as an Eevee, then he had been ready to evolve.

Lydia smiled and nodded, kissing his forehead as she hugged him. "I'm proud of you," she whispered. "You did so good, Umbreon." He seemed pleased by this and turned around to face Alicia, standing in shock, daring her to bring on some more Pokémon.

With a sigh, Lydia stood up and looked towards Alicia, eyebrows raised. "Well?" she said softly. "We had a bargain." She had never once expected Alicia to keep her word about telling her everything that she knew, but it still would've been nice to know the truth.

"I'm not telling you anything, you worthless trainer," she snapped as Eevee returned to his trainer's side. "You may have won this round, Talon, but we will be back. And next time, it's not going to be so pretty." She tossed something down and smoke exploded around them.

Lydia coughed as the searing pain entered into her nostrils and she covered her nose and mouth to block its passage, feeling Umbreon next to her, coughing on the smoke as well. Reaching down, she stroked the fox Pokémon as she looked for Jesse and Jennie through the thick smoke.

"Guys!" she yelled, though her voice was muffled by her hand. "Jesse! Jennie! Where are you two?"

"Pidgeotto, blow this smoke away!" Jennie's voice rang out. She saw the silhouette of a bird Pokémon appear and then the flapping of wings emerged. Lydia lowered her hand as the smoke was blown away, allowing the three trainers and their Pokémon to be able to breathe.

"They're gone," Jennie said unhappily. "Dang it! I really wanted to beat up some of their Pokémon some more. Stupid trainers," she grumbled.

"Haven't changed a bit, have you, little sister?" Jesse teased, grinning at her. "Don't worry, they'll be back."

"And we'll be waiting," Lydia said cheerfully, grinning at them. "So, who's up for ice cream?"

AN: Okay, guys, I'm going to let you guys make a decision on what Jennie's status as a trainer is going to be. Is she . . .

a) a breeder, like Brock

b) a single type trainer, like Misty (you'll also get to decide which type, excluding Wartortle and Pidgeotto)

or c) a League trainer, like Ash

Vote and decide!


	19. A Secret from Jennie

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Nineteen: A Secret from Jennie

It was early the next morning when Lydia was suddenly yanked from her sleep by someone yanking open the windows, letting the bright sunlight into the room. "What's going on?" she asked sleepily as Umbreon looked up, startled by the sunlight and his trainer as she looked towards whoever opened the window. "Jennie, what are you doing?"

"Apparently, you've been taking after my brother's sleeping habits," Jennie said brightly as she walked over to Lydia, fully dressed and wide-awake. "Come on, I've been up for hours waiting for the two of you to get up. Weren't you two planning on heading over to the gym later?" she wanted to know, tossing Lydia's clothes onto the bed.

"Yeah, but we didn't have to get up first thing in the morning," Lydia told her dryly. "The gym isn't even open until nine. And it's only . . ." She checked her watch. "Seven now."

"You're never going to win any more badges that way," Jennie said, shaking her head. "Maybe you should just give up, if you're going to go your entire training career like this."

Lydia stared at her, then glanced at Jennie's bed, where her pillow was. Picturing the pillow lifting up into the air in her mind, Lydia hid a smile when it did exactly that, then sent the pillow flying into the younger girl's head, making her shriek with surprise.

"Okay, that is not fair!" Jennie exclaimed once she'd managed to recover. "I don't have any psyche to fight back with. Honestly, Lydia, I wouldn't think that use your powers against people who have no advantage like that." She placed her hands on her hips, looking defiant.

"Yeah, well, get over it," Lydia said, grinning. "Besides, I wasn't sure that I would actually be able to do it. So just consider yourself an asset to _my_ training." Jennie scoffed and rolled her eyes. "So, what about you? Are you planning on challenging Whitney?"

"Oh, didn't you hear?" Jennie asked her, looking surprised. "Goldenrod's got a new gym leader, just started yesterday. Whitney decided she wanted to hand over the reins to her little sister, Wendy. She's just sticking around long enough to make sure that Wendy's got the hang of things before she goes off to tour the world."

"Classy of her," Lydia remarked. "Well, then, I guess we're going to challenge Wendy and start her first day as a gym leader with two losses. Or three, if you're planning on—"

"I'm not planning on challenging Wendy," Jennie replied with a shrug. Lydia raised an eyebrow. "To be honest, I don't want to me a master trainer or anything, all I want to do is be a world-class Pokémon breeder, specialising in ice Pokémon."

"Really?" Lydia asked, intrigued. Jennie nodded vigorously. "That's really cool. I think that's great, Jennie. You should go for it."

"Yeah, that's part of what bugged Mom and my great-uncle so much was my not wanting to train a whole bunch of different types," Jennie explained as she sat down. "I really love ice Pokémon, but they never let me catch one because they hoped I could grow out of the habit if I didn't have any." She smiled. "It didn't work. The only thing it did was make me love them even more. And I never even liked battling with them—not all the time, anyway—I liked raising them more. That's why when I got that phone call from you, I decided that I was going to start living my dream. I'm going to be an ice Pokémon breeder and this time, Mom's not going to be able to complain. Although, now that she's lost two kids, she should start trying to change her ways."

"After my first impression of her, I kind of doubt it," Lydia said dryly as she rubbed her bandaged arm, flexing it carefully.

Jennie's eyes moved to her arm carefully. "Hey, what happened to your arm, anyway?" she asked.

Lydia explained and Jennie frowned. "It was over by this old couple's house on Route 34," she said. "They have a shelter for abandoned Pokémon, hoping to find them homes."

"Yeah, I know, I passed by there on my way here," Jennie told her. "That's where I caught my first Pokémon here in Johto." Reaching into her jacket pocket, Jennie produced a Pokéball, releasing its occupant. A Smoochum appeared, blinking up at Lydia and Jennie. "Isn't she a darling?"

"Yeah, she's pretty sweet," Lydia agreed, reaching down and petting Smoochum. Umbreon jumped down to talk with the psychic. "Well, this should be interesting," she remarked. "A psychic and a dark Pokémon. Aren't they supposed to be enemies or something?"

"Not unless their trainers are," Jennie said with an evil grin. Both girls laughed and Lydia stood up, grabbing her clothes. "All right, finally! Maybe we can go check out some stores or something."

"Good luck getting that through to your brother," Lydia responded as she headed into the bathroom, pulling her nightgown off as she stepped into the shower, feeling the warm water wash over her. This was the best part about being back in civilisation, the modern devices.

Once she was finished taking a shower, Lydia dressed quickly and walked out to the bedroom she was sharing with Jennie, while Jesse was sleeping next door. She picked up her brush out of her bag and quickly brushed out her wet hair while Umbreon laid her head down on the bed.

Jennie was checking something out on the map that lay open on the desk, frowning slightly at it before she raised her head to look towards Lydia curiously. "Hey, where is it that we're going after this?" she wanted to know. "Ecruteak City?"

"That's the plan," Lydia answered as she slid her traditional headband into place. "And then we'll be heading southeast to Olivine. Why? Is there something that you wanted to do in Ecruteak?" she asked as she returned her brush to her bag and looked towards the younger girl.

"Oh, no reason," Jennie said indifferently, but she was looking like a Stantler caught in the headlights. Besides, Lydia had become accustomed to that particular look after spending months with Jennie's older brother.

"Jennie, don't give me that," Lydia sighed, pushing a sheet of her wet hair over her shoulder. "You've got that look."

"What look?" Jennie said innocently.

"The one that Jesse gets when he's got something that he wants to tell me, but doesn't really want to tell me," Lydia answered. "Now, come on, what's in Ecruteak that you want to do?"

Letting out a deep sigh, Jennie glanced over her shoulder. "I think that we should wait until Jesse gets up to tell you," she said. "Because this involves him, too." Lydia frowned just as the door opened and a very much awake Jesse appeared, fully dressed.

"No need to wait for me, little sister, I'm here and I'm awake," he grumbled as Natu flew into the room and the three Pokémon started chattering to each other.

Lydia and Jennie looked at each other, then Lydia stood up and peered out the window curiously. "What are you doing?" Jesse wanted to know.

"See if there are any flying Snorlax," Lydia answered, still looking carefully outside. Jennie cracked up and Jesse made a face at her as she turned around, grinning at him. "Now, couldn't you do this earlier, because you are awfully hard to get up in the morning, mister, so why the sudden chance?"

"That is not true, I usually do get up earlier than I usually do on a gym battle day," Jesse protested. "So, Jen, what's this big surprise that's waiting for us in Ecruteak?"

Jennie sighed and Jesse took a seat while Lydia joined the Pokémon on the floor, watching the two siblings curiously. "A couple of months ago," she said softly, "I got a letter from Dad, telling me that Mom had prevented him from ever seeing us because she fed a whole bunch of stuff to the judge about the kind of man he'd been before they'd met and stuff. All of it was true, but Dad kind of changed his ways. Anyway, he told me that he loved me, and you, Jesse, and Jamie and that he wanted us to be a family again."

"Dad said that?" Jesse whispered as Lydia stood up and squeezed his shoulder gently. "He really said that?"

With a nod, Jennie continued. "When Mom found the letter, she burned it and grounded me for a whole month for not telling her about it. Apparently, he's banned from ever seeing us. But the thing is . . . the address on the letter was in Ecruteak City."

Lydia's mouth fell open as she heard that, looking towards Jesse. He had an expression of pure astonishment on his face. "Are you sure that he wants us?" Jesse asked.

"I know so," Jennie insisted. "Why would he have contact me if he didn't, Jesse? You remember him, don't you? He's not like that."

"Jen, please, I was six years old when he left," Jesse muttered, looking like he didn't want to have this conversation.

"Six is old enough for memories, Jess," Jennie snapped at her brother. "Six is old enough to remember what our father was like!" Lydia, however, was having a flashback to back when they were in Cherrygrove City.

_"How do you all do?" Jack said with a grin, walking over and patting Ivysaur and Eevee on the heads before looking up at Jesse. "Turner, eh? Any relation to a Jeremy Turner?" _

_"That's my grandfather, sir," Jesse said politely, looking extremely relieved that he wasn't intruding on something anymore. _

_"That's a good man. Helped me out with some things a few years ago," Jack said lightly._

"Uncle Jack!" Lydia exclaimed, nearly falling over in surprise in shock. Jennie and Jesse stopped arguing to look around at her. Jesse had an expression of confusion on his face. "Remember, Jess? He said that he knew your grandfather! Maybe he'll know something!"

"It's worth a shot," Jesse said, looking relieved. "Do you think he'll even be up just yet? It's only seven-ish." Lydia nodded, grabbing her bag as Umbreon jumped up, hurrying over to her as the trainers hurried out the door and raced down the steps, heading straight for the phone.

Lydia dialled the phone number she knew by heart by now and waited for someone in Cherrygrove to pick up. On the second ring, the chauffer that had picked them up earlier, Peter Linton, answered. "Miss Talon!" he said with a smile as he looked at her. "Good to see you again! And Mr. Turner, of course, how are you, sir?" Then he looked to Jennie. "You must be Miss Turner, then? Very nice to meet you."

"Thank you, sir," Jennie said awkwardly.

"It's nice to see you again, Mr. Linton," Lydia told him. "By any chance, is my uncle there?"

His expression turned regretful. "I'm very sorry, Miss Talon, but Mr. Talon is out of town for the next week," he answered. "And I'm afraid that we don't have the number for where he'll be staying at."

"Hopefully, we'll be out of here by then," Jennie muttered. "Oh, well, guess we've got no choice, then."

"No choice?" Mr. Linton inquired.

"Never mind," Lydia said hurriedly. "Could you just tell Uncle Jack that I called and I'll try again the next time that I've got a phone handy?"

"Of course."

"Thank you," Lydia said as she hung up and looked towards her friends. "Well, it was worth a shot. How about we agree that we don't go see your dad until we get the details from Uncle Jack?"

"I think that's a good idea," Jesse agreed, looking relieved while Jennie pouted, but agreed.


	20. The Normal Gym

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Twenty: The Normal Gym

Lydia sat outside the Pokémon Centre, waiting for the siblings as Umbreon sat next to her, laying his head down into her lap. She smiled slightly, patting him, as she looked up towards the sky. The bright sky blazed overhead, lighting up the heavens as a flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto flew over them, unaware of the young trainer.

"Heading towards the gym?" Nurse Joy had appeared, coming outside to look at Lydia.

"Yeah, if my friends ever get out here," she answered with a grin. "The plan was to get up and out of here early." She smiled slightly as Nurse Joy sat down next to her, stroking Umbreon behind the ears. "Don't spoil him," she warned the nurse. "He's getting hard enough to take care of."

Both of them laughed as Umbreon looked up at his trainer with a wounded look in his eyes. "I'm just kidding, buddy," she assured him.

"Well, good luck today," Nurse Joy said, smiling at her. "Wendy may be inexperienced, but she's learned from the best. Whitney is definitely one of the top trainers that Goldenrod has ever produced and she's passed on her skills to her sister, so be ready."

She smiled at Lydia, then stood up as a couple trainers inside approached the desk and headed back inside just as Jesse and Jennie came outside, looking towards Lydia.

"Ready?" she asked them as Umbreon climbed off of her. She stood up as the siblings nodded. "All right, then let's go." Heading through the crowded streets, Lydia glanced towards Jesse. "So, which Pokémon were you planning on using, anyway?"

"Definitely Gastly," Jesse said at once while Jennie perked up to listen to the conversation. "Maybe Natu or Ivysaur. But I'm definitely going to use Totodile, considering this will be his first gym battle. He needs the experience." Lydia nodded as Jennie looked over at her.

"What about you, Lydia?" she asked, looking interested. "Which ones were you planning on using?"

"Cubone has been getting really good, but he's never actually been in a gym battle," Lydia said, "so I'm probably going to start with him. And Umbreon, probably. How many Pokémon do you think they're going to let us use?" she asked, directing the question at no one in particular.

"I overheard a trainer in the Centre talking about his battle," Jennie told her. "He said that he had to use three. The only reason he lost was because he only had one, so that made things a little difficult."

"Yeah, I'll bet," Jesse muttered. "If it's three, then are you going to use Poliwag or Cyndaquil?"

"Don't know," Lydia muttered. "Probably take a leaf out of your book and decide when I'm on the field." Jesse grinned and Jennie frowned, looking curious and Lydia explained what her brother had done at the last gym. By the time she was finished, they had come up to the gym.

"'Goldenrod City Pokémon Gym,'" Lydia read. "'Leader Whitney, the Incredibly Pretty Girl.' Huh. Guess they haven't though to change the sign yet."

"Guess we should go in," Jesse said, striding forward and reaching for the handle, pushing the door open. The girls looked at each other, then followed him as they made their way through the gym. Behind them, the doors clattered shut as a young woman looked around at them, smiling towards them as they entered.

"Are you here for a match with the gym leader?" she asked curiously. Jesse and Lydia nodded. "Very well, my sister's waiting. Be kind to her, though," she added, "this is her first week of being gym leader and she's still a little nervous. It hasn't helped that not a whole lot of decent trainers have come to challenge her."

"What do you mean, 'decent trainers'?" Jennie wanted to know. The young woman looked at her and smiled.

"Bug catchers, mostly," she replied with a sigh. "They've been coming around here a lot, thinking that a new trainer will be easy to beat."

"So, would I be right in assuming that you're Whitney?" Lydia asked her. The young woman smiled and nodded. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Lydia Talon, this is Jesse and Jennie Turner."

"It's a pleasure," Whitney said as she led them to the gym floor, where a young girl that was around their own age looked towards them. She bore a remarkable resemblance to Whitney, right down to the pink hair. "Wendy, you have some challengers."

"Oh, joy," Wendy muttered as she looked towards them. "All three of you want a battle?"

"Just these two," Jennie offered, pointing towards the older trainers. "I'm not heading for the League."

"Thank goodness," Wendy said, letting out a sigh of relief. "So, which one of you wants to go first?" She was smiling pleasantly towards them as Jesse pushed Lydia forward. "All right, then, step on up," she told her as she walked onto the field.

"Three on three," Wendy told her. "The battle will be over when all of either trainer's Pokémon are unable to battle. Got it?"

"Got it," Lydia said as she handed her Pokédex over to the judge, who entered it into the computer before handing it back to her. "Thanks," she told him before taking her place while Jesse and Jennie took seats at the bleachers with Whitney and some junior trainers.

"This battle between Lydia Talon of Rosewaters Isle and Gym Leader Wendy of Goldenrod City will no begin!" the judge called. "Each trainer is allowed three Pokémon, no substitutions." He looked at the two as each held a Pokéball in their hand. "Begin!"

"Furret, I choose you!" Wendy yelled, throwing her Pokéball and Furret appeared, landing on the field as Lydia tossed her own into the air.

"In the case, the Pokémon I choose will be . . . Cubone!" she called, releasing the ground Pokémon. Wendy's eyebrows went up at this, but she said nothing as Furret growled at Cubone, who only scratched his bone calmly without looking at his opponent.

"Fury swipes!" Wendy shouted.

"Bone club!" Lydia countered. The attack hit its mark, but unfortunately left room for Furret to move in for the fury swipes, effectively scratching Cubone. Lydia frowned, casting a quick glance towards Jesse, who gave her an encouraging smile from where he sat. "Boomerang!"

The attack was launched as Cubone released his club, effectively hitting the normal Pokémon head on, sending him flying backwards into the wall. Wendy's eyes wide as she slowly turned around to face Lydia, who met her gaze evenly as she gawked at the young trainer from Rosewaters Isle.

"One down," Lydia murmured under her breath. "Two to go." Wendy was seething as she recalled Furret.

"You've had some beginner's luck, kid," she warned Lydia. "But this match is far from over." She pulled another Pokéball out and released it. "Go! Clefable!" The small pink Pokémon emerged from the ball, landing gracefully onto the field.

_"Lydia, look to Cubone,"_ Jennie's voice suddenly spoke in her mind and she jumped, glancing towards the blonde before looking to her tired Pokémon. Cubone was worn out from the battle with Furret. He couldn't continue like this, she realised as she recalled him.

_"How'd you do that, Jennie?" _she asked mentally. _"How come I'm able to talk to you telepathically?" _

_"Hey, remember, you're psychic." _

_"Yeah, but you're not." _Lydia glanced at her and realised that Smoochum was sitting in her lap. Not only was Smoochum an ice Pokémon, but she was also a psychic. _"Oh." _

_"Yeah, pay attention to your match and send out your next Pokémon," _Jennie told her. _"Before you get disqualified for waiting too long." _

She had spoken too soon. Umbreon, tired of waiting for his trainer's instruction, darted forward and into the match, growling towards Clefable. Whatever he said, it made Clefable angry, because she moved in for a doubleslap attack without waiting for her trainer's instruction. Wendy winced slightly, but didn't reprimand Clefable, as the attack at close range packed a serious punch. "Nice one, Clefable," she commented. "Now, let's try the metronome."

"Umbreon, dodge with quick attack!" The move was effective and managed to escape the metronome attack as he dived out of the way and before Lydia could call it, plunged forward into a take down attack. "Good job, Umbreon! Now, bite!"

"Moonlight!" barked Wendy as Umbreon bit Clefable in the leg, almost knocking her out of the match. Lydia blinked, mouthing 'moonlight' towards the siblings on the bench as a stretch of moonlight appeared in the stadium and Clefable healed her injuries instantly.

"Oh," Lydia muttered. "Cool move."

"It's not as effective as it would be during the night, but it still works," Wendy said, though she grinned at Lydia. "If you were ever going to attack, I'd suggest doing it now."

"Thanks for the tip," Lydia mumbled. "All right, Umbreon, let's show them that we're not ready to give up just yet. Move in for tackle and then you know what to do."

Umbreon barked as he lunged forward, tackling Clefable before she had the chance to recover from the healing. Clefable squealed, glaring at Umbreon just as Umbreon jumped up into the air. Wendy stared at Lydia, wondering what she was up to, as Umbreon's tail flashed white and landed accurately onto the normal Pokémon.

"Clefable is out of the match!" the judge called as Clefable struggled to stand up from being attacked by the steel-type move, but finally passed out, her energy sucked dry. Wendy scowled as she recalled Clefable, clutching the Pokémon in her hands. Lydia let out a slow breath as she glanced towards her friends. Only one more battle left, she thought. But she knew perfectly well that Wendy would save her best for last.

"Blissey, you're up!" Wendy released the dark pink Pokémon that was the evolved form of Chansey, the Pokémon that were usually found helping out Nurse Joy (any of them) in the Pokémon Centres. "Minimize!"

"Umbreon, dodge it!" Unfortunately, Umbreon had been out a lot longer than Blissey and he wasn't able to get away from the attack that would make it harder for him to dodge any attack that Blissey made. "Sand attack!"

The dark Pokémon turned around and kicked sand towards Blissey just as she released an egg bomb attack. Umbreon roared as he was hit on the shoulder, sending him flying across the stadium, where he landed unceremoniously on his feet.

"Lydia, switch Pokémon!" Jesse stood up, looking at her. "Umbreon's too tired to keep battling like this!" Biting her lip, Lydia looked to her Pokémon carefully, trying to decide.

"Umbreon, do you want to keep going?" she asked. The dark Pokémon looked up and nodded once, going back into the rink, only limping slightly. Lydia let out a slow breath and nodded. "All right, then," she said softly, "then we'll do it together."

"You want to keep Umbreon battling?" Wendy was startled, but Lydia caught Whitney's eye and she smiled slightly, nodding with understanding. "But he's hurt . . . he can't go on like that."

"He can and he will," Lydia replied. "Umbreon, pursuit!" Launching into the attack, Umbreon managed to get it off before Blissey was able to respond, landing carefully on his feet as he growled to her. "We're not giving up, not yet. Not here, not ever."

Wendy frowned, but shrugged. "All right, then. Blissey, let's give them our grand finale!" Blissey opened her mouth and started the chords that would put Umbreon into sleep . . . and out of the match . . .

. . . until at that same moment, Umbreon jumped forward and gave Blissey a take down attack that sent her flying into the opposite wall. Lydia winced slightly. "We have _got_ to stop doing that," she murmured as Wendy shrieked, racing to see if Blissey was safe.

"Blissey is unable to battle!" the judge announced. "The victory goes to Umbreon and Lydia Talon of Rosewaters Isle!" Lydia laughed as she threw her arms around Umbreon, who licked her face as Wendy stood up with Blissey, a relieved look on her face.

"Is she okay?" Lydia asked and Wendy nodded, surprised that she'd asked.

"Yeah, she'll be fine," she answered, looking towards Jesse. "All right, your turn now." Lydia and Umbreon headed up to the bleachers.

"Good luck," she whispered to Jesse as she took his place next to his sister. Jennie grinned as Smoochum started talking to Umbreon while their trainers turned their attention to the match that was starting to take place down below.

"Which one do you think Jesse's going to start with?" Jennie asked and Lydia shrugged.

"Don't know," she admitted as she scratched Umbreon behind the ears. He enjoyed the attention. "If I were Jesse, then I would probably start with Gastly; he's got an advantage over normal type Pokémon, because they can't hit him with any attacks."

"Of course, that can work both ways, 'cause ghost type moves don't work against normal types," Jennie reminded her. Lydia nodded with a grin. "But yeah, so would I. Does Gastly know any different type moves?"

"Hypnosis," Lydia answered, frowning as Wendy sent out an Aipom. "Oh, wow, I've never seen an Aipom before." Jennie grinned. "And I think Gastly also knows Mean Look, but that's not much good unless Jesse doesn't want the other Pokémon to escape from battle."

To both girls' surprise, Jesse released Ivysaur, planting him in the middle of the battle field. Lydia sighed and looked towards Jennie. "Since when does he listen to either one of us, anyway?" she asked.

"Older brothers," Jennie sighed as the battle commenced. The battle between the two trainers was hard and ferocious, almost as hard as Lydia's had been. Wendy was definitely as good a trainer as people said her sister was. Ivysaur won the first match, but was knocked out by Granbull, who also won against Jesse's Totodile.

"This doesn't look good," Lydia murmured as Jennie bit her lip worried as Jesse pulled out a Pokéball, a strange look on his face. He threw the Pokéball, releasing Natu. "Okay, this might work."

"It'd better," Jennie replied, looking at her. "This is his last Pokémon; if he loses this one, he loses the match." She stood up. "Come on, Jess, you can beat her! Show her that us Turners are winners!"

"Way to put the pressure on him," Lydia mumbled as Jesse, after rolling his eyes towards his sister, released a powerful psychic attack onto Granbull, who had been out in the match for a long time. The attack successfully took him out of the match, leaving both Jesse and Wendy with only one remaining.

And Lydia had been wrong. Blissey hadn't been her most powerful Pokémon. Not by far. And the one that she did she was now using against Jesse, with only one Pokémon left. "Go! Girafarig!"

"Is this a problem?" Jennie asked.

"Well, considering that it can use a dark attack, which are extremely powerful against psychics, I'd say yeah," Lydia replied as Natu flew above the stadium, circling the newcomer as he released a pysbeam attack.

"Natu, dodge it!" The psychic bird managed to avoid it as she launched a leer attack before she rose into the air again. "Now, move into peck attack!" Lydia saw, rather than sensed, the problem with that move.

Jennie shook her head. "No," she whispered. "He's got to win these battles on his own two feet." Lydia frowned, not liking that, but fortunately, Jesse realised, a second later, the problem.

"Natu, pull up!" he yelled and the bird screeched to a stop, flying above the giraffe Pokémon before he could hit her with a crunch attack and take her out of the match. "Teleport before it hits!"

The bird shimmered out of view, reappearing behind Girafarig and immediately threw a psychic attack towards her opponent from behind. The close range attack caused a massive explosion and when the smoke cleared, Natu was circling around her unconscious opponent.

"Girafarig is unable to battle!" the judge called. "Victory goes to Natu and Jesse Turner of Alyson Town!" At that moment, Lydia felt as though everything were going to be all right again. Little did she know, it was only the beginning.


	21. A Friend Who is Not a Friend

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Twenty-one: A Friend Who is Not a Friend

With the winning of the Plain Badge, the group decided to splurge and treat their Pokémon to a nearby salon, since they'd all done such a great job battling and it was going to be awhile before they were back in a city again. Lydia went to the department store with Jennie to pick up some more supplies, since they were going to have Jennie's Pokémon to take care of as well. By the time that they were back, Jesse was already waiting with the Pokémon and before they knew it, they were back on the road, but this time with a new friend and sister.

It didn't take long for day to pass into night and pretty soon, they were setting up camp, with Jesse pitching up the tent while Lydia stirred the stew that was going to be their dinner. Jennie was flipping through some Pokémon magazines, lying on her chest as she flipped the pages.

"So, how far away is the Ice Path, anyway?" she asked, glancing up at the older trainers. "It's says in here that it's a great spot for catching some ice-type Pokémon and since that's what I'm gonna be specialising in, I think that's where I should head towards."

"Ice Path is right outside Blackthorn City," Lydia answered, reaching for the map in her bag and checking it to be sure. "And we're heading in the opposite direction after we're finished with Ecruteak."

"What?" Jennie was dismayed. "Why?"

"Because that's where we need to go to get some badges," Jesse answered, looking towards his sister. "We have to go to Olivine and Cianwood and get the badges there, then double back." Jennie stared at him, then at Lydia, then back again.

"Well, if we're doubling back, anyway, what difference does it make which way that we go?" she wanted to know.

"Because the Silver Conference is at the Indigo Plateau, which is not too far away from Blackthorn," Lydia replied as she brushed her light brown hair out of her eyes. "And if we're running short on time, I'd prefer not to have to take a boat ride all the way back to Cherrygrove and then have to get all the way back up to Blackthorn—"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Jennie threw up her hands in annoyance. "I just really want to catch some ice Pokémon. I love Wartortle and Pidgeotto and Smoochum, but I would like to catch some new ones."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Jesse agreed. "There's nothing around here but Pidgey and Ledyba." He shook his head as he finally gave up on pitching the tent and looked towards the girls. "Okay, do you know how to put this together? Either of you?"

"No, that's supposed to be a guy thing," Lydia said with a grin. Jesse scowled at her and she grinned, stirring the stew again. "Look, you were the one who insisted on buying the tent, Jesse. I was perfectly content on sleeping in the sleeping bags."

"What if it rains?"

"So we'll get wet hair?"

"You haven't seen Jennie on a bad hair day yet."

Jennie looked up in alarm and she immediately ran her fingers through her hair fretfully as Lydia looked at Jesse. "Trust me," he said, fighting a smile. "It's not a pretty sight and then we'll have to endure her whining and moaning about it for a week straight."

"Shut up, Jess," Jennie muttered, going back to her magazine. "Do you have any brothers?" she asked, directing the question towards Lydia.

"Not that I'm aware of."

"Lucky you," Jennie said coldly as Jesse stuck his tongue out at her. "So, do you think we're gonna find Dad when we get to Ecruteak?" she asked, diverting the conversation away from her.

Lydia shivered slightly as she felt apprehension go through her, but neither one of the siblings noticed, though she could've sworn something flicker behind Jesse's eyes. But it went by so fast that Lydia was half-sure that she had just imagined it. "I don't know, Jen," she admitted. "You never know, he might have already moved."

"His letter came only a couple months ago!" Jennie exclaimed. "He couldn't have moved away in just a couple of months!"

"This is the guy who left us without saying a word, Jennie," Jesse muttered, avoiding their eyes. "I wouldn't expect not too much out of him if I were you."

"Really?" Jennie asked mockingly. "He was awfully concerned about you, Jess. And he even knew that you had left the academy to go start your own journey. That's not exactly the sound of a deadbeat dad. He said that he loved us and beside that, why would he even bother contacting us if he didn't want to have anything to do with us?"

"She's got a point," Lydia said quietly to Jesse, who shot her a 'stay-out-of-this' look before returning his attention to his sister. She sighed as Umbreon stood up, sniffing the air around them as he growled slightly. "Guys, shut up!" she whispered and both siblings stopped arguing to look at her. "What's up, Umbreon? You smell something?"

She stood up as Umbreon trotted across the campsite and stared out into the dark woods. Lydia frowned as she looked towards Jesse, raising her eyebrows as he whistled for Natu, who flew down onto his outstretched arm. "Natu, who's out there?" he asked.

Lydia closed her eyes as Natu flew upwards, casting her psychic energy towards the trees. She could sense someone close, very close, but she couldn't tell whether they were a friend or enemy or even if they meant any harm. "Who's there?" she called, walking up next to Umbreon. "Show yourselves!"

"Oh, yeah, that's real smart," Jennie muttered. "Calling out to someone when we don't know who's out there or what they want."

Suddenly, Lydia froze, realising that it wasn't just one person. "There's a least three," she said quietly. "Male . . . about our age. They're trainers . . . one of them is a fire trainer, I think."

"You're scary sometimes," Jesse muttered as he stood up, scanning the distance as Natu flew overhead, finding the intruders. "I mean, that's a very useful skill to have, Lydia, I'll admit, but . . . it's scary." He shook his head as she smiled faintly. "Natu, find anything?"

"Well, what have we got here?" A young man with blond hair and cold eyes had appeared in their campsite. Umbreon made some small noise as he growled at him. "Come take a look at this, fellows."

Two more boys walked up next to him, sneering at the trio in the campsite. Lydia shoved her hands into her pockets, feeling for her Pokéballs, in case she needed them. Jennie had scooped up Smoochum and was holding her tightly to her chest. "What do you want?" Jesse demanded aggressively, his green eyes narrowed with dislike.

"What do we want?" The blond looked around them. "A lot of things, but for now, I think I'd settle for that soup over there, little boy. Oh, and uh, just hand over your Pokémon and we'll be on our way."

"Not a chance," Lydia said flippantly. "I'll tell you what you boys are going to do. You're going to walk away, laugh this off, and we'll ignore the fact that you tried to steal our Pokémon. 'Cause if you try, then we're going to have to get all violent; it's going to be very messy. We're talking bloodshed, brutality, adult language . . . I mean, it's just not something I'm looking forward to."

The blond laughed. "You hear that, guys? Little girl here thinks she can best us. Seriously, little girl, you really think that you stand a chance against us? It's three on . . . well, two and a half," he said with a sneer, eyeing Lydia's short height.

_WHACK!_

That comment was all it took for Lydia's hand to come flying out of nowhere and the blond staggered backwards, his hand covering the cheek that Lydia had smacked. His friends gawked at Lydia as she folded her arms across her chest.

"You had it coming," Jesse said with a sigh. "And I can tell you that you really shouldn't have said that." He rolled his sleeves up. "You boys want a rumble? Let's go."

"Not a rumble." The blond had recovered and was pulling out a Pokéball, glaring at them. "Just a battle. And if you lose, then you have to surrender your Pokémon to us." He was grinning menacingly at them now as they glanced at each other.

"Well, what if we're not interested in battling?" Jennie asked curiously. "Come on, you were the morons who came onto _our_ campsite and started bothering us, why can't you just go and leave us alone?"

"Because we're evil," the blond said as though this were obvious. "And besides, I could use the workout." He held out the Pokéball, about to raise it in the air when an unfamiliar, deep voice spoke from behind them.

"Is there a problem here?"

Lydia spun around to find a guy probably around fifteen years old behind them, with dark spiky hair and deep blue eyes right behind them. He had his hands in his pockets as he strolled onto the campsite, keeping a close eye on the guys as they looked at each other.

"Stay out of this, loser," the blond snapped at him. "This isn't any of your business."

"Really?" The newcomer was smiling pleasantly. "'Cause it looks to me like you're causing all kinds of problems for these two beautiful girls and very nice young man. And I have to tell you, I've got a problem with that." He pulled a Pokéball out of his pocket and spun it in his hand before catching it with the other. "Don't make a nuisance of yourself, boys. Just walk away."

The blond seemed to recognise that he wasn't playing games and took a step towards Lydia, leaning closer to her. "This isn't over yet," he said quietly. "Far from, little girl. I'd watch my step if I were you. Let's go, boys," he said lightly. "Plenty of time left to go find some more trouble tonight." His friends glared at the newcomer before following the blond away from the campsite, leaving the trio with the newcomer, who had turned his attention to Lydia now that the danger had passed.

"You three all right?" he asked and she nodded, noticing that Umbreon had relaxed visibly so the moment that they were out of sight. "Good thing I came along, I think that they were about to pummel you guys."

"We could've handled them," Jesse threw at him and he shrugged. "We could have!"

"I think you're out of your league with them, kid," he replied. "They're a part of an evil team that has no other interest than to mess with kids like you and steal their Pokémon, torture them until they give in to their boss's demands. Either that, or they would have taken you with them so you could put your lives into his hands. He's got no problem spilling kids' blood and will no hesitate to sacrifice your Pokémon just to make you do what he says."

"They're a part of the same organisation that Alicia's in," Lydia said slowly, frowning as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Alicia Knightly?" The guy cocked an eyebrow. "You've met her, then?" All three of them nodded as he sighed, looking away. "Things are already in motion. You've got to be prepared, Lydia Talon."

"Prepared for what?" Lydia asked, unnerved. "And how do you know my name?"

"You have to be prepared to fight," he answered. "Because everything is about to change and you may be able to stop them."

Lydia stared at him. "Stop who?"

"Those who will stop at nothing to stop you," he replied without missing a beat. "You have powers that you don't use to your full potential. And unless you start, then you're gonna end up losing it all. Your family, your friends, your whole world will change and there won't be anything you can do to stop it."

Lydia stared at him, remembering her dream and her mother's words._ "You must use your powers, Lydia . . . find out the truth . . . and why things happened the way that they did . . ." _

_"What truth?" _

_"Only when it is essential for you to know will you know what truth that is. When you are ready, you will find out." _

_"Ready for what?" _

_"When you can answer that question for yourself, you will be ready. Go back to living, my child. There are people waiting for you there . . ." _

The guy was smiling, as though he knew what she was thinking. "Should listen to your mother," he told her as he walked away from her.

"Who are you?" she yelled at his back and he turned around, a strange look appearing on his face as he looked at her.

"Let's just say that I'm a friend."

"Maybe I don't want a friend."

"I didn't say that I was yours," he pointed out as he pushed his hands into his pockets and walked away into the dark woods and out of sight.

Lydia watched him go before looking towards Jesse and Jennie, both of whom looked scandalised. "Who was that?" she asked.

"No idea," Jesse muttered. "But I didn't like him."

"Me, neither," Jennie muttered.

Lydia frowned as she looked back. "Still . . ." she whispered. "There was something familiar about him."


	22. He's Back

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Twenty-two: "He's Back"

The night was relatively quiet after that incident, apart from Umbreon being extremely nervous and Lydia having to continuingly pet him in order for him to calm down. She didn't blame him, though; she had already guessed the reason for his nervousness, even though Jesse and Jennie didn't understand the real reason behind it.

Of course, Jennie had to go and bring it up at the morning breakfast table, right when they'd all woken up. "Who were those guys last night, anyway?" she asked. "I mean, it seemed like Umbreon knew the blond one."

Umbreon got up and walked away, a deep moaning sound coming from him. "What's up with him?" Jesse asked, glancing sideways at her. "Who was that guy? Did Umbreon know him?"

"All too well," Lydia said, giving him a sideways look. "The blond guy was Umbreon's former trainer." She had recognised him after awhile, remembered him from her vision when she'd entered Eevee's mind at the Rosewaters Isle Pokémon Centre.

Jesse's mouth opened slightly and he closed it, shaking his head in disbelief. "So that was the guy that . . ."

"Made Umbreon all worked up about fire Pokémon trainers, yes, that's the one," Lydia answered as she stood up, walking over to Umbreon and sitting down next to him, stroking him gently.

"I don't get it," Lydia heard Jennie said and her brother instantly launched into an explanation, which she tuned out as she turned her attention back onto Umbreon, who laid his head into her lap as she stroked him behind the ears.

"So, that was him, huh?" she asked softly and Umbreon looked up at her, a sad look in his eyes. "That was your former trainer." She sighed. "Look, I can't tell you that you're never gonna see him again, because I have the feeling that we haven't seen the last of him, but I can tell you this: justice will be served. I promise, he's gonna be spending every moment in jail that he deserves. It's just the 'when' I'm not sure about. But I promise, Umbreon, he's not gonna touch you, not while I'm around."

Umbreon seemed to accept this as he stood up and licked her face appreciatively and she laughed, hugging Umbreon tightly. "All right, you want to rejoin everybody else and have some breakfast?" she asked and Umbreon barked in agreement as they headed back over to the group. Lydia pulled her Pokéballs out of her pocket, releasing their occupants before she sat down with her friends.

"He all right?" Jesse asked her, looking over at Umbreon as he sat with Smoochum and Poliwag. She nodded with a smile at him. "Good. So, are we gonna be worried about the spiky-haired guy from last night or are we just gonna wait until he shows up again?"

"I don't think he's really a threat," Lydia said slowly. "A bit cryptic, but he could've let those guys fry us, but instead, he just scared them off." She shook her head. "I don't know what it is, but I think he's on our side." Lydia frowned. "Okay, when did we become a side?"

"Since all of these guys from this mysterious organisation started tracking us down," Jesse answered as he leaned back against the log. "But I'm not as sure as you are that this guy is on ours. Maybe he just wants to play mind games with us. If we see him again, then why don't you take a little peek into his mind, okay? That way we'll know for sure whose side he's on."

Lydia sighed as she looked at him. "Jess, I can't just go poking my head into everybody's mind whenever I want to." She folded her arms across her chest. "It's unethical. Besides, it tends to scare people away. Sometimes being a psychic sucks." Jennie laughed and she smiled. "Anyway, we'll just add it to the list of things that we're gonna ask Uncle Jack when we call him. Man, that list's getting long, isn't it?"

"Well, we're not going to learn anything just sitting here," Jennie announced, "so let's hurry up and get back on the road, because quite frankly, being here creeps me out a little after that little incident last night. Those guys are gone for awhile, right?" she asked.

"I think so," Lydia assured her. "For some reason, they strike me as the night time evil-doers. Hey, maybe they're vampires!" she said with a grin, causing both Jesse and Jennie to laugh.

"For some reason, I doubt it," Jesse said, shaking his head. "Come on, let's eat."

--

The sun was already bearing down upon them as they walked through the woods that would lead them to Route 37. Once or twice, they stopped for challengers, but mostly, they went on their way until Jesse suddenly called, "Hey, look! Isn't that Violet City?"

"Yeah, it is," Lydia said as she saw where he was pointing. "I forgot we were supposed to stop right by it on our way . . . think we should stop or just keep going? It's only a day or two until we reach Ecruteak, anyway. There's not exactly any real reason to stop."

"How about the sun's going down and we're not going to get much time in anyway?" Jennie muttered. "We've been roughing it for a couple days, Lydia, can't we just crash in the Centre tonight? I promise, I'll be good and rested tomorrow and at my full strength if we can just sleep in an actual bed tonight."

Lydia cocked an eyebrow and Jesse rolled his eyes disbelieving. Jennie reluctantly dropped the act. "Okay, maybe not, but how much further could we possibly get tonight? And we'll have nice soft beds and a decent meal," she pointed out. "I don't mean that personally, Lydia, I love your cooking, but I need a nice, at home meal every once in awhile or . . . can we please just stop? My feet are literally killing me."

"Oh, all right!" Lydia said in mock exasperation as she shook her head. "Might as well, we're here."

"You give into her too easily," Jesse told Lydia. "You keep it up and then she's gonna have you wrapped around her little finger . . ." Jennie scowled at him as they walked down the hill towards the Pokémon Centre. "Oh, well, the Pokémon could use a check-up, I guess."

"You guess?" Lydia sighed. "We've been coming across trainer after trainer ever since we left Goldenrod." Jesse sighed, conceding her point as they walked through the doors. "Anyway, now would be the perfect . . ." Her voice trailed off as she saw the man standing at the desk, talking to Nurse Joy. "Uncle Jack!"

He looked around as he heard her voice and grinned broadly. "Well, well, if it isn't my favourite niece," he said with a grin as she hurried forward to hug her uncle tightly. "How are you, kid? No broken bones or anything?" he wanted to know.

"Sprained arm, but it healed," Lydia said with a shrug. She'd taken the bandage off the day after they left Goldenrod and was able to move it without much difficulty. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, just had some technical difficulties with the equipment, was giving them a hand," Jack replied with a shrug. "Hey, Jesse, how's it going? And who might you be?"

"Uh, this is my sister Jennie," Jesse said as Jennie said hello, shaking hands with Jack. He nodded in admission as he looked at the three of them. "It's good to see you again, sir."

"So, what's going on, you three?" Jack wanted to know after they admitted their Pokémon and headed over to the waiting room to talk. "Linton said that you called while I was away. Sorry I missed your call, kiddo," he said to Lydia. "It was urgent business."

"No, it's okay," Lydia assured him. "Actually, um . . . we just wanted to know if you knew anything about their dad." Jack looked surprised as he looked at the Turner siblings. "You said that you knew Jesse's grandfather, so we just thought we'd ask."

"Knew you'd ask me eventually," Jack sighed. "Well, not a whole lot is known about Jared Turner, until he turned up about fifteen years ago and met your mother. That was back before I knew him, when he was all of eighteen and determined to enter the Pokémon League. And I mean, way determined. Would have done just about anything to get in, even if it was illegal." He shook his head. "Well, he fell in love and his dream suddenly became meaningless. He became the kind of man that every girl dreams of marrying. I can tell you this much, kids," he added. "He loved his wife enough to give everything up for her. And he loved the two of you even more. And that little sister of yours. What's her name? Janet? Jean?"

"Jamie," Jesse said quietly. "I don't get it, though. If Dad was everything that you describe, then how come he left us? Why didn't he stick around, even if Mom didn't want him to?"

"I'm not sure," Jack answered as he leaned his arm across the back of the couch. "But I can tell you this much, he's been helping out over the past ten years in more ways than you can imagine. There's something coming, something big, but nobody knows what it is." He smiled at their confused faces. "Oh, don't mind me, I've just got my mind on a bunch of things. The point is, if you want to know why your dad didn't stick around, the only thing to do is ask him yourself."

"Oh, sure, we're just gonna go up to his house in Ecruteak, knock on the door and say, 'Hi, Dad, remember us? The kids you abandoned? Mind if we come in, sit down, and have a long talk about why you left us?'" Jesse looked exasperated as he said that.

"Well, that's the direct approach," Jack pointed out. "I would suggest being a tad less confrontational about it, but otherwise, you've got the idea." He chuckled as he looked towards Lydia. "So, how's the road been? Won any badges?"

"Three, we're on our way to gym four," Lydia answered, pulling out her badge case to show her uncle. He smiled, looking proud and wistful. "So, you got any info on the gym leader in Ecruteak?" she wanted to know. Jesse made a face at her and she shrugged. "Well, we asked him about your dad, didn't we?" she pointed out.

"I'm gonna go get something to eat," Jesse sighed. "Jen, you coming?" Jennie nodded as she followed her brother out. "It was nice to see you again, Mr. Talon."

"Yeah, nice to meet you," Jennie told him, leaving uncle and niece alone in the lobby.

"Nice kids," Jack muttered. "I don't get why Jared would have abandoned them like that, though."

"From what his letter to Jennie said, it didn't sound like he had much of a choice," Lydia told him. "She said that he said that her mother told the judge that settled their divorce a bunch of stuff so that they were never able to see him. He didn't really want to leave, but their mom didn't really give him much of a choice. What was he like, when you first knew him?"

Jack sighed. "He was . . . a lot like your dad," he admitted. Lydia's eyebrows went up. "The only thing that he cared about was Pokémon, Lydia, I'm not going to deny that. They were the only thing that he lived for. Until he met their mother. He was a real piece of work." He shook his head. "So, what's going on? You look distracted? Something happen?"

"Yeah, uh . . . we've been having a lot of run-ins with this girl named Alicia Knightly," she answered. "Says that she works for some organisation that uses Pokémon to try and control the world, to take it over or something. We've escaped her several times, but she keeps coming back." Something flickered behind her uncle's eyes, but it went by so fast that she thought she imagined it. "And then yesterday, we got attacked by Umbreon's old trainer and two of his friends. They were about to force us into a Pokémon battle to steal ours, but this guy appeared out of nowhere."

"What guy?"

"I don't know," she answered. "Tall, spiky-haired, good-looking. About fifteen or so. Dark hair, blue eyes. He scared them off and then said that I needed to use my powers to my full potential or I was gonna end up losing everything."

"Did you tell him that you were psychic or did he just sort of know?" her uncle asked, frowning.

"No, I didn't tell him," she answered, realising that now. How did he know about her powers? Was it possible that her uncle knew him, that he was a friend of Jack's? "Do you know who he is? When I asked him who he was, all he said was that he was a friend."

"I have an idea," Jack murmured. "A very good idea." He shook his head. "You don't need to worry about him; he won't hurt you. If anything, anybody hurts you and he'll have something to say about it. Go get something to eat, kiddo. I'll see you before I leave, all right?"

Lydia sighed, realising she wasn't going to get any more information out of her uncle tonight and headed into the cafeteria. But as she passed through the doors, she heard Jack say one last thing.

"He's back."


	23. Hayden

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Twenty-three: Hayden

It was bright and early the following morning when Lydia, Jesse, and Jennie rose to start the new day and continue on the road to Ecruteak City. Her uncle had left the night before, heading back to his house back in Cherrygrove. Lydia could tell, even without looking at him, that he was distracted about something. And if she had to take a guess, then it would be about the mysterious stranger who had saved their lives.

She wanted to ask Jack what he knew about the mysterious stranger, who he was, but when Lydia saw the disturbed look on her uncle's face, she wondered if it was even a good idea to ask. So she kept her mouth shut as she said goodbye to him and promising to call him when they reached Ecruteak. If either Jesse or Jennie noticed anything strange about her or her uncle, then they didn't comment on it.

Lydia was actually kind of curious as why people kept coming to her and telling her that she needed to use her powers. What did it matter why she used them or not? Wasn't it up to her whether or not she used them?

"Hey, guys, look there!" Jesse announced as he pointed up ahead. Both girls looked to where he was pointing at. Lydia let out a low whistle when they saw a Scyther in the woods, right next to some trees.

"He's hurt!" Lydia said immediately, realising that the Pokémon was breathing heavily and painfully. Jesse went pale as he realised this and hurried up to the Pokémon, squatting down beside it. "Jess, be careful!" she warned. Frightened or injured Pokémon would most likely strike out at anyone who went near them, even if they meant no harm. Lydia held her breath as Jesse started talking gently to it.

The Scyther let out a sharp hiss and swiped its blade towards her friend. "Watch out!" Lydia yelled, but Jesse had moved out of the way just in time and was looking at Scyther determinedly. Jennie was staring at this with apprehension in her eyes.

"Easy, Scyther!" Jesse whispered, moving towards him again. "Take it easy. Don't worry, I'm a friend." Lydia watched him as he pulled his bag off of his shoulders, searching through it for some medicine. "Guys, do you have any of the Super Potion that we bought?"

"Here," Jennie said softly, handing him one. Jesse sent his sister a grateful look as he turned back towards the injured Pokémon, who was now regarding them warily.

"What's a Scyther doing out here?" Lydia muttered, frowning as she looked at her friends. "I mean, don't they usually live in the National Park? It's supposed to be hard to find one . . ."

"Maybe this one was abandoned by his trainer," Jennie said quietly as Jesse talked to him gently, finally persuading him to spray the Super Potion on his injuries. Almost the second that the potion was sprayed, Scyther reared up, squealing in pain.

"Whoa! Easy, easy!" Jesse yelled, grabbing his Pokéball and tossing it into the air. "Gastly, hypnosis!"

The ghost let out a tiny moan as his eyes glowed and Scyther slowly calmed down, the attack sending it into a deep sleep as he lay down on the ground and Lydia slowly approached him, kneeling down beside the fallen Pokémon. "Poor thing," she said sympathetically. "We can't leave him out here, you guys. He'll die."

"Yeah," Jesse muttered as he finally finished tending to the Pokémon's injuries. "I'll talk to him when he wakes up, convince him to come with us so we can get him to a Pokémon Centre."

Lydia looked at him before returning her attention to Scyther, closing her eyes slightly as she stretched out her mind to Scyther's. It was always so easy to read Pokémon, easier than it was humans, anyway. She saw what had happened to Scyther before they found him.

Jennie was right; he had been abandoned by his trainer. His former trainer had used cruel and harsh methods of training, resorting to whips and abuse to force Scyther to reach his potential. He had suffered through it, but finally in the last gym battle, he collapsed, forcing his trainer to lose the match. Which was why, after giving him a fierce beating, he had abandoned Scyther, leaving him to die here.

"I don't think that's going to be so easy, Jess," she said quietly. "He was abandoned, after his trainer beat him and left him to die." She looked at Jesse, her face pale. "I don't think he'll come with us. I think you're gonna have to catch him."

"But—" Jesse started before looking down at Scyther, looking so weak and helpless. "How can I catch him now, when he's like this? It's not right to catch him without even a proper battle."

"Then he won't come with us. We leave him out here, he'll die."

"Jesse, she's right," Jennie whispered as she stared at the broken Pokémon. "You're gonna have to catch him and then we'll be able to take him to the Centre when we reach Ecruteak." Her green eyes stared into the identical ones of her brother.

Jesse stared at the two of them before retuning his attention back to Scyther. "I really don't like this," he muttered, shaking his head as Gastly roamed overhead, circling around Scyther. He pulled out a vacant Pokéball, throwing it towards Scyther. "Pokéball, go!"

Scyther was engulfed by the red light and sucked into the Pokéball, landing on the ground. All of them held their breaths as the ball shook violently for a minute and then went completely still.

Lydia brushed her hand through her hair as Jesse picked up the Pokéball, staring down at it grimly. "All right, so let's get going," she said quietly. "The faster that we get to Ecruteak, the faster we can get to the Pokémon Centre, the faster we can get him some help." Jesse nodded, giving her a small smile as they continued down the road, at a much faster pace than they had been before.

--

It was late at night when Lydia was lying awake with Umbreon right next to her, his chest rising and falling as he slept on. Lydia climbed out of her sleeping bag, having the uneasy feeling that were others near them as she walked through the dark woods, pulling her jacket on around her as she walked.

Closing her eyes, Lydia stretched out with her psyche, trying to sense anybody that was nearby and almost instantly caught the sensation of at least three people close by.

"Gotcha," Lydia muttered as she headed in the direction where she sensed them at. She was so absorbed in tracking the people that she sensed that she didn't noticed that someone was right behind her, watching her as she climbed further into the dark woods, finally coming up on a mansion parked in the middle of the woods.

"What the . . .?" she muttered, staring at it. "What is a mansion doing out here in the middle of nowhere?" Lydia frowned slightly, pushing herself out of view as she saw a familiar blonde girl, along with the three boys that had attacked them the previous night, approach the house.

Alicia Knightly glanced over her shoulder, checking to make sure that nobody had followed them, before she and her friends entered into the house, closing the door behind her. Lydia let out a slow breath as she waited a few minute before walked towards the house, trying to keep out of view as much as possible.

Climbing up the steps, Lydia placed her hand on the doorknob, turning it and pushing it open. She frowned as she looked around, making sure that there was nobody to attack her as she entered. Letting out a slow breath, she stepped into the porch, where the door to the house was locked tightly.

Letting out an exasperated sigh as she tried unsuccessfully to open, Lydia suddenly caught wind of someone behind her, just out of sight, but relaxed when she sensed the presence. Only slightly, though. "I don't suppose that you've got a key on you," she commented, turning around to face the mysterious stranger, leaning against the doorframe.

"They really don't like me barging in," he responded with a grin as she folded her arms across her chest. "Take off on your friends in the middle of the night much?" She narrowed her eyes at her just as they both heard a familiar growl behind him and he turned around to see Umbreon right behind him, barring his teeth at the stranger. "Oh. Right, then. I think I'll keep my distance to keep him from biting."

"He doesn't know bite just yet." Lydia was fighting the urge to grin as she motioned to Umbreon. "Calm down, buddy, I don't think he means any harm yet." Umbreon growled at the stranger again, but walked over to his trainer's side, still watching him carefully.

"I knew you were going to want to figure out what they wanted with you sooner or later," the stranger said, looking at Lydia as she placed her hands on her hips, waiting expectantly. "Although, I have to admit, with everything that's been happening, I've got to say, I thought it would've been a _little_ sooner. Guess you've been busy, though . . . gym battles, Pokémon raising . . . problems with the Turners' dad?" he added with a small grin that made Lydia suspect that he had been watching them.

"What are you, following me or something?" she wanted to know. He only grinned, which only confirmed her suspicions. Lydia sighed. "Okay, look, if you're gonna be coming around and helping me out or whatever it is that you're doing, could you maybe drop me a name?"

He considered her for a long moment, then shrugged. "Hayden," he answered.

"Hayden," Lydia repeated, frowning slightly. "There's no last name that goes with that?" He chuckled, giving her a faint smile, but didn't reply. "Not going to humour me even a little bit, huh?" She looked away towards the locked door. "All right, fine, then."

"Don't go down there!" he warned her as she turned away from him, trying to figure out how she was going to get it unlocked without attracting a lot of attention. "Look, you can't go down there. They'll be expecting you and you can't get out by yourself."

Lydia looked at him sharply. "Well, then, if you're so worried about my well-being, why don't you just come along and protect me?" she countered. "Or are you afraid of them?"

"I'm more afraid of them hurting you than you are," he replied, then closed his eyes, looking exasperated with himself. Lydia frowned at him. "There's no way that I'm gonna be able to talk you out of this, is there?" She shook her head. "All right, but I'm not going to help you in there. It's time you started using your powers."

"What are you . . ."

"Come on." He placed his hands on her shoulders, pushing her down towards the lock. "Close your eyes, Lydia. Relax, clear your mind and focus only on your power. Do you feel it?" Lydia nodded, her eyes closed as she plunged into it. "You can feel everything . . . focus on the door, the lock. Can you see it?"

Lydia wasn't sure why she was doing what he was telling her, but for some reason, she trusted him. "Yes," she breathed.

"Good. Now envision it unlocking. See it opening from the inside, the deadbolt moving out of place. And then the door swings open." She obeyed him and looked up the moment that she heard the hinges swinging open.

Stunned, she looked up at Hayden, who was grinning as he held out his hand, helping her up. And then the two trainers slipped through the door, entering the forbidden fortress.


	24. Memories of Past

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Twenty-four: Memories of Past

Lydia could hear Hayden's quiet breathing as they carefully walked up the stairs through the mansion, keeping a close eye and ear out as they snuck through the halls. Her heart was pounding in her chest as Umbreon strayed close to his trainer, his red eyes darting every which way. He, too, could tell that they were in danger, grave danger, just by being here.

She knew that coming in here was a bad idea; she knew that. But why was Alicia's boss so interested in wanting her dead or captured? As far as she knew—which, admittedly, was very little—she had done nothing to earn the man's hatred. That, more than anything else, intrigued her. If she had done nothing to the man, then why was he so interested in her? And why did her uncle seem to know so much about this, but wasn't confiding in her? Didn't she have a right to know?

Umbreon gave a small whine and she petted him gently. "Shh, quiet, boy," she whispered just as she heard voices up ahead.

"Get down!" Hayden hissed, pulling her behind a statue and clamping a hand over her mouth. She didn't bother fighting him, lest it bring attention to them, but something about this was vaguely familiar to her. Lydia slammed her eyes shut as her mind started being tugged in another direction, to another time and place.

_There were men coming . . . coming for the both of them and Mama. She was a little baby in her crib as a little boy, three years old, wandered over the crib, his dark hair framing his fearful face. "Quiet, Lydia," he whispered and she stopped crying, looking up at him in absolute trust as he lowered the door on the crib. "Don't worry, I'll take care of you." _

_Giving him a happy smile, Lydia allowed him to pick her up, carrying her through the house they were being kept in. She kept quiet as he held her, singing the song Mommy would sing to them at night under his breath. _

_It was quiet . . . too quiet . . . and then she saw her mommy stretched across the hall and he gave a gasp of horror. There was red stuff everywhere . . . it lay in a puddle around her mama. _

_Whether it was the sight in front of them or he was getting tired of carrying her, he slowly sank down onto the ground with her in his arms, allowing her to curl up in his lap, laying her head onto his chest. _

"Lydia?" Hayden yanked her from the memory and she shook her head, pulling herself into the present as she looked around the hallway, staring at the place where she had just seen in her . . . memory? Hallucination? Imagination? She couldn't be sure of what it had been. "Are you all right?"

"This place . . ." Lydia whispered as she looked around them. Hayden looked at her, then his blue eyes flickered around them, something flickering behind his eyes. "I've been here before."

Pulling away from Hayden, she took a step towards the spot where, in the vision that she'd just had, her mother had lay dead.

She knew that it was her mother, because she looked exactly like the picture that she had in her locket her uncle had given her. There was no doubt that the woman from her vision was Rosemary Talon.

"We should leave," Hayden said sharply and she looked at him. He had a grim look on his face as he looked at her, true pain evident in his face. "Lydia, listen to me, we need to either get out of here or continue on. And personally, I really think it should be the former."

"It was you." Hayden, about to move back towards the entrance, froze on the spot. "You were here . . . with me. I saw it, Hayden. We were here, together, in this place, in this very spot. My mother . . . she died here." Lydia shook her head; it was unable to comprehend this, but at the same time she knew it was completely true. "But this wasn't where I was born."

"No." For the first time since she had met him, Hayden's voice trembled slightly. "It wasn't. You were born . . . away from here, at Jack's. In Cherrygrove City," he added quietly.

"Uncle Jack's?" Lydia asked slowly. "Why would I have been born at my uncle's? Was . . . was Mum staying with him while my dad was on business or something?"

Hayden looked at her quickly. "Uncle?" he repeated softly and he scoffed, shaking his head. "Uncle. They really haven't told you a thing about how things really went down, have they?"

"What are you talking about?" Lydia was starting to get angry now. Up until a few days ago, she had been . . . well, maybe not happy with how much she knew about her mother, but content. And now, he was making her question everything that she knew about her family.

"Let's go," Hayden said sharply as he walked back towards the entrance. "Ask your uncle about it the next time you talk to him. Ask him what really happened between him and your mother."

Lydia stared at his back as she hurried to catch up with him, Umbreon right behind her. "You know, it might be a little bit easier for me to trust you if I had some idea of what exactly you wanted with me," she told him, "or even who you were."

Hayden turned around so quickly that she almost slammed into him. His blue eyes were intense. "You'll find out when you _need_ to know," he said quietly. "You want me to be honest about something? I'm not telling you everything I know, because you're strictly on a need-to-know basis. Just ask your uncle about it. Look him in the eye and ask him. Use your powers and you'll know if he's lying or not. Then ask yourself whether or not you can trust me . . . and whether or not you should be trusting Jack."

Lydia couldn't think of anything to reply to this as she walked after the older trainer, shoving her hands into her pockets. If she was honest with herself, she knew that there was something that her uncle was hiding from her. And Lydia knew, deep in her heart, that there was something about Hayden that stirred up memories that were deeply locked inside her mind.

It wasn't just this place that had awoken those long-forgotten memories of when she was only a baby. Maybe it was the mansion _and_ Hayden. Or maybe it was being there, in the exact same position, in the exact same spot as they had been twelve years ago.

Either way, she knew that while she hadn't found out a single thing about Alicia and her boss, she knew that she had found something equally important out.

If only she could figure out what it was.

--

"Lydia!" Jesse exclaimed the moment that she entered the campsite. She glanced up at him and saw his panicked expression. Jennie didn't look completely calm either. At once, Jesse ran up to her and embraced her tightly. "Jeez, where have you been? We woke up and found you gone—why'd you take off like that?"

"Just needed to take a walk," Lydia said quietly, glancing behind her. After they'd gotten out of the mansion, Hayden had disappeared into the night, leaving her safely behind. "Sorry, I didn't mean to freak you guys out. I just needed to take a walk for a little while."

"A little while?" Jennie repeated, looking incredulous. "Lydia, you've been gone for almost two hours. We woke up after Umbreon went after you." She shook her head as Lydia sighed. "You want to be honest with us?"

Jesse looked at her with a faint wounded expression and she sighed, giving in. "All right, I thought I sensed somebody in the woods and went to go check it out. Turns out that Alicia and her buddies were nearby. There's a mansion back there that they went into."

"Tell me that you didn't go into the mansion," Jesse said, covering his eyes. "Tell me that you didn't go into that mansion, Lydia, by yourself in the middle of the night, locked in there with a bunch of people who we're pretty sure want you dead."

Lydia stared at him. "You want to run that by me again?" she asked sceptically. Jennie laughed as Jesse smiled. "Okay, I didn't go in there, not by myself, anyway. Hayden was with me."

"Who?"

"Our mysterious stranger," Lydia answered with a sigh. "He showed up again, right when I got on the porch and wasn't about to let me go in by myself, so he went in with me. I swear, there's something about that guy that I just don't get. He keeps showing up and probably saving me, but he won't tell me what's going on, just gives me cryptic messages before going off and disappearing into the night. What's that all about?"

"Guys can be so annoying," Jennie agreed while Jesse rolled his eyes. "What kind of cryptic message did he leave this time?"

"Just to ask Uncle Jack what really happened between him and Mom," Lydia said, rolling her eyes. She thought it better not to mention that she'd been in that mansion when she was a baby, with Hayden, and that mansion was the place where her mother had died.

Jennie opened her mouth to say something, but her brother jabbed her side. "Enough, Jen," he muttered, annoyed about something. "Why don't we grab something to eat and then start heading down the road, okay? We're not that much further from Ecruteak, anyway, are we?"

"About a day's walk," Lydia answered quietly as she stared up at the barely lit sky. It wasn't even dawn yet.

"Good, so the sooner that we get back on the road, the sooner that we'll get there and the sooner we'll be able to get a fourth badge, talk to Dad, and wander around aimlessly in the ghost town," Jesse said as he stood up, digging through his bag to dig up three packages of Pop Tarts for breakfast.

"These are so disgusting raw," Jennie grumbled as she bit into it. Lydia smiled faintly, but in reality, she wasn't even paying much attention to what she was eating. Her thoughts were still on that memory that she'd stumbled upon when she'd been in that mansion.

She knew that she'd hit on something important when she'd been at that mansion, when she remembered being there with Hayden twelve years ago, but she couldn't figure out what it all meant. He knew more than he was saying and it kind of bugged her that he wasn't telling her what he knew, but what if he really was trying to protect her?

Her mother, dying in front of them.

Her father, mad with rage at her betrayal of becoming a Pokémon trainer and blaming her for the death of her mother.

Her uncle, kept from her for ten years until she had contact him and now kept secrets from her about this mysterious stranger.

Had Hayden been telling her the truth? Was there something, in fact, that he was particularly keeping from his niece? She knew that there was something that had happened between her mother and uncle and that it was the reason why her father despised her to the point that he had ignored her for what amounted to her entire life.

And why was Alicia and her boss so interested with her? The two secrets were entwined; Lydia was sure of that.

_How am I supposed to fight them if I don't even know what they want with me?_ Lydia thought in annoyance. _Why was I in that mansion twelve years ago with Hayden? Why did people tell me that she died giving birth to me when in reality, she was murdered by someone? And who is Hayden, anyway? Why do I trust him more than I trust Uncle Jack? _

She knew that was true; in the few days that she'd known him, Lydia trusted Hayden more than she did her uncle. There was just something about him that she didn't understand, yet trusted.

"You know, you tend to work things out better when you talk about them with friends," Jennie commented with a grin as they walked down the road that would lead them to Ecruteak City. "Are you sure that you don't want to talk about it? 'Cause we'll listen. Well, I will. Jesse will pretend to be interested in girl problems and then fall asleep halfway through."

Jesse stuck his tongue out at his sister and Lydia smiled faintly. "It's not that I don't trust you guys," Lydia said simply. "I do. I just have to finish working this out in my head before I can tell anybody else about it. All I know is that people are hiding something from me. Uncle Jack, my father . . . everyone in my life that I've ever trusted. And I've got a feeling that your dad might very well be connected with whatever's going on. Alicia's people want something from me. And if nobody is going to tell me," she added, rounding on her heel to look at them, "then I'm gonna find out on my own." Jesse and Jennie looked at each other before returning their gazes towards the tiny, brunette trainer. "Are you guys with me?"

Jesse placed his hand in the middle of their circle. "I'm with you," he said with a grin. Both girls stared at him, then at each other. "It's a guy thing. I really need to get some male friends."

Jennie chuckled as she placed her hand on top of her brother's. "We're both with you," she said as Lydia slapped hers onto Jennie's.


	25. Jared Turner

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Twenty-five: Jared Turner

Ecruteak City was, as they had been forewarned by various trainers and travellers on their way, pretty much a ghost town. Almost every single trainer that Lydia encountered as they walked through the town was accompanied by a ghost Pokémon. She didn't understand how people could be so fanatical with Pokémon that could pass right through them.

"And I thought that Azalea was weird because they were obsessed with bugs," she commented, making Jesse chuckle and Jennie smirk as they headed into the Centre. She looked at them questioningly. "So, I have to ask . . . do you guys want me to tag along while you guys go visit your dad? Because if you don't, it's really okay. I can stay here and look up stuff on the internet, see if anything turns up."

"No, don't even think about it, you're coming," Jesse told her. "Besides, if you're right about Dad knowing something about what's going on with your parents and uncle, then you deserve to hear it firsthand."

Lydia looked at him sideways. "Are you sure?" she asked. "I mean, you guys haven't seen your dad for . . . what, eight, nine years? I don't want to intrude on that."

"We wouldn't have it any other way," Jennie said happily as she linked her arm with Lydia. "Now come on, let's get our Pokémon healed and head over there, shall we?"

"Sounds like a plan," Jesse said as he handed over his Pokéballs to Nurse Joy. "I'm going to go and see if Dad's address is in the phone book. Guy's got to have a phone, right?" he asked with a sigh as he headed over to the phone booth. The girls exchanged a look and after she handed her Pokéballs over to the nurse, Lydia went after Jesse.

"So you want to tell me why you're so afraid of going over to your dad's?" she inquired as she leaned against the booth while Jesse flipped through the pages. Jesse's green eyes shot upwards and he glared at Lydia flippantly.

"Who says that I'm afraid?" Jesse challenged her. She sighed and gave him a long look that clearly gave him the answer to that particular question. "I thought we agreed that you weren't gonna go inside my head without permission. What happened to that ethics hype you were so worked up about?"

"Didn't need to go inside your head to know that, Jess," Lydia told him quietly. "You've got fear pouring off of you so badly that even if a person was completely blocked from psyche they would feel it." He stared at her, then looked away, flipping through the pages again as he reached the T's. "What's going on, Jess?"

"It's nothing," he countered, fixing his gaze on the page as he reached the page for Turner. "Good, there's only one listing for Turner in Ecruteak. I don't think it's too far, so we should be able to go straight over there as soon as we're done here."

Lydia sighed, running her hands through her light brown hair. "How long is it gonna take us to be honest with one another?" she asked him. Jesse looked at her. "I can understand if you don't want to worry your sister, Jesse, but I'm not Jennie. Why don't you try me?"

Jesse studied her for a long moment before he sank down onto the chair at the phone booth as she sat down expectantly. "I don't know," he admitted with a sigh. "Lydia . . . I haven't seen or talked to my dad in over eight years and suddenly . . . I'm going out of my way to talk to him when he has never even bothered coming around."

"Well, from what Jennie said . . . he didn't really have much of a choice," Lydia said kindly.

"_If_ he's telling the truth," Jesse said bitterly. "And who knows if that's really true or not. For all we know, he could just be a typical deadbeat dad who would love nothing more than to screw with his kids' lives. What kind of a father abandons his kids, anyway? Maybe I don't want to know him," he said with a sigh.

"Yes, you do," Lydia told him, placing a hand on her best friend's hand and squeezing it gently. Jesse shook his head as he raised his bleak expression to her.

"How can you be sure?"

"Well, because if I had a chance to talk to my father and maybe work things out, then I would do it in an instant," Lydia answered. "Maybe if I did, then I could find out some answers to my past . . . and solve this mystery. But I don't have that option, because my father doesn't even want me in his life anymore. He wouldn't even try and contact me, Jess. Your father has." Jesse's shoulders slumped slightly and she raised his head to look at her. "Besides that, I already know your father." His eyes widened slightly and she smiled at him. "Because I know you," she explained. "If your father is anything like his son, then he's worth getting to know."

That was all that it took for the tension to leave Jesse and he gave her a wry smile that was so reminiscent of the Jesse Turner she had come to know and love that she smiled back. "You're really . . ." he said, shaking his head at her, grinning wildly.

"Aren't I?" she asked with a laugh. "Come on, Jess, let's go meet this father of yours." Helping him to his feet, they made their way into the waiting room until Nurse Joy returned with their Pokémon, fully recovered, and then headed over to Jared Turner's house.

All the while, Lydia noticed that a certain spiky-haired stranger was following them yet again and while she pretended to ignore Hayden's presence, she couldn't ignore the feeling that something was about to happen. Again.

--

Lydia felt a little out of place as they finally arrived at Jared Turner's and Jesse knocked on the door and stepped back as they heard someone inside call for them to wait a minute. Her heart skipped a beat as she heard the voice; it sounded like a much older version of Jesse's. If Jennie noticed it, or even Jesse himself, they took no notice of it.

The moment the door opened, Lydia felt as though she were looking into the future as she stared at Jared Turner. The features, the green eyes, the brown hair . . . it was so obvious that Jesse took after his father. She looked back and forth between father and son, unable to believe her eyes as she saw this. Jennie caught her eye and winked.

"Moltres, Articuno, and Zapdos," Mr. Turner breathed, his green eyes wide as he stared at his daughter and son. "Jesse? Jennie? And who else?" he asked, seeing Lydia. "Not Jamie, surely?"

"Not quite," Lydia said with a small smile at him. "I'm Lydia Talon." The moment that he heard her name, his jaw went slacken and he took a step back, as though stunned beyond belief, and his gaze flickered to all three of them before he recovered.

"Well," he said finally, sounding out of breath, "this certainly is a surprise. Come in, come in, all three of you. We have some catching up to do. Would you like anything to drink? I can make up some tea . . . I have some soda, if you'd rather?"

"Tea would be great," Lydia said, looking at Jesse pointedly. "Jess? You want some tea?"

"Yeah, sure," Jesse said, his voice strangled as he stared at his father. "That would be good." His father smiled painfully as he headed into the kitchen, the trio following him. Once they were sitting down at the table, each with a steaming cup of tea, silence fell over them. It was so silent that Lydia could hear each tick-tock of the clock and it was starting to bug the heck out of her. Finally, she decided to break the silence.

"So . . . uh, what exactly do you do, Mr. Turner?" she asked politely, trying to steer the silence into a conversation.

"I mostly am a tour guide for the Tin Tower in town," he said, looking relieved at someone breaking the silence. "And I help out at the Pokémon Centre sometimes."

"Why?" Jesse said quietly. He was staring down at his mug before he looked up at his father. "Why did you leave us behind? Mom said that you wanted to take us with you, so why didn't you? If you cared so much about us, why didn't you fight to keep us after the divorce?"

Mr. Turner looked down in shame after each question, but waited until his son finally drew a breath to speak. "I wanted to," he said quietly, "but your mother . . ." He took a deep breath. "She and I were in love, you two. We were in love and the harder you fall for someone, the messier the break-up is. Your sister was barely a week old when it happened. I loved the three of you, I did, but . . . your mother didn't want me to mess up your lives the way that I'd messed up hers. And I could see her point. If she hadn't married me . . . she would be living the life of luxury."

"Mom does like the rich life," Jennie said quietly to her brother, who chose not to remark at this comment. "But why would marrying you have changed anything?"

"Well, your grandparents didn't really approve of me," Mr. Turner said with a small smile. "I don't think they thought anybody was good enough for their golden princess, but the fact that she fell in love with a little street urchin made them so furious that they gave her a choice: me or her inheritance."

"She chose you?" Lydia asked, curious despite herself.

Mr. Turner gave her a small smile. "She would have lost it either way," he said gently. "Because if there was one thing that her parents hated more than me, it would've been her losing her reputation." He turned his green eyes to his son. "Having a child out of wedlock would've done that. Things were different back then. It's not as big a scandal nowadays, but back then . . . well, let's just say that she would have faced scorn and disdain for the rest of her life. And so would you, Jess."

Raising his head towards his father, Jesse shook his head. "That's why," he whispered in realisation. "That's why she always ignored me and forced me to do things that I didn't want to do and disowned me the moment that I got enough courage to tell her no. I was her downfall, why she had to give everything up." He stared down at his hands. "Why she always insisted that I was corrupting my sisters."

"She was never as hard on Jamie or me as she was on you," Jennie whispered, wrapping her arms around her brother before she looked at her father. "Can we come here, when we're not on the road? I know that it's a lot to ask, but we don't have anywhere to go . . ."

Those words were all it took for the light to come on Jared Turner's face and Jesse leaped up, half-startling the girls as he hugged his father tightly. Mr. Turner looked taken aback, but after an encouraging nod from Lydia, he hugged his son. Jennie stood up and joined her brother and father in the hug and Lydia watched the happy family.

Jesse pulled away, turning away from the rest of them for a minute. Lydia suspected that he was wiping away tears, because when he faced them again, he had on a determined expression. "Uh, listen, if it's okay, we kind of need to ask some questions about Lydia's parents," he said, nodding towards the brunette trainer.

"I had a feeling that's half of why you were here," Mr. Turner sighed as he looked towards Lydia carefully. "I know very well who you are. You're Rosemary's little girl. You have her eyes."

"That's what everybody tells me." Lydia took a deep breath. "I need to know what happened with my parents. There was a mansion in the middle of the woods on the way here and I was there twelve years ago, with my mother lying dead there. Why did people tell me she died giving birth to me if something else happened? And why won't anybody tell me the truth about it? Is it a joke? To find out how much I can't handle? Because if it is, then I have to tell you, I'm starting to crack." Her temper rose slightly as Mr. Turner leaned back in his chair, staring at her.

"Why not ask your father?"

Lydia sighed. "Yeah, well, my father disowned me after I wanted to go on a Pokémon journey, so he and I aren't exactly speaking anymore."

"Doesn't sound like him," Mr. Turner mused, looking worried. "That's not at all like your father, Miss Talon."

"It's Lydia," she corrected automatically. It sounded too strange for her friends' father to be addressing her so formally. "And according to Uncle Jack, it's exactly like him."

"Dad?" Jesse looked alarmed as his father's face paled considerably. "Dad, what's wrong?"

For the first time, Mr. Turner didn't acknowledge his son. "You don't know, do you?" he whispered. Lydia was suddenly reminded of her conversation with Hayden in the mansion, when she'd addressed Jack as her uncle. "If you don't know, then I shouldn't be the one to tell you."

"Yeah, well, I'm starting to run out of people that I trust right now," Lydia said flatly, staring him down. "Try me, why don't you?"

Mr. Turner stared at her for a long moment. "You are truly your mother's daughter, Lydia Talon," he said with a sigh. She looked down. "All right. I'll try you." He took a deep breath. "Jack isn't your uncle."

Lydia looked up. Jesse and Jennie stared at their father disbelieving. "What?" she asked incredulously.

"Jack isn't your uncle," Mr. Turner said, looking as though he were going against his better judgement. "He's your father."


	26. The Truth Comes Out

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Twenty-six: The Truth Comes Out

Lydia heard the words, but she didn't believe them. There was no way that she could have heard what she had _thought_ she'd heard. It wasn't possible, wasn't even in the same area code as possible. Umbreon whined as he climbed up into his trainer's lap as she absently pet him, still staring at Mr. Turner, who was looking at her with an expression of pity.

Jesse, upon seeing her expression, walked around the table, squatting down next to her. "Lydia?" he asked gently. "You okay?"

"I'm not sure." She looked towards his father for a moment, sure that she had misunderstood him. "I'm sorry, can you repeat that, because I could have sworn that you just said that my uncle was my father. And that's pretty much an impossibility."

"No, it's not," Mr. Turner said, his tone gentle as he looked at her, to the way that his son placed his hands on her shoulders comfortingly. "Listen, I told you I wasn't the right person to tell you this—"

"Well, you'd better tell me how that's even possible, because you can't just drop a bomb like that and then not tell me why!" Lydia was shocked to hear her yelling at him. Apart from her father—or William—she had never raised her voice to an adult before. She usually respected her elders. "I'm sorry, Mr. Turner, but please just explain it to me, because I'm drawing up a blank on how this is possible."

Mr. Turner studied her for a long moment, then nodded. "When I first met your mother, Lydia," he said finally. "I was seventeen, a young trainer with only one thing on my mind and that was getting to the championships and becoming a master. Nothing else mattered. Rosemary was an exceptional fire trainer, one of the best that there was. Not only was she a gifted trainer, but she was also a very kind and compassionate woman. She had a way of seeing people as how they truly were and not how they portrayed themselves to the world. A gift that truly set her apart from others.

"It was at this same time that I met Jack. He, too, was a well-respected and talented trainer, but in his own way. Being psychic, he specialised in training psychics, but he always sought to help Pokémon that were in need, no matter what the type. Rosemary and Jack met at the same time I met them and whatever else I was back then, I was no fool. I could see how they cared for one another.

"What nobody foresaw was the interference of his brother. William was no trainer, didn't even respect Pokémon or even people who respected them. He was an arrogant, power-hungry young man who would stop at nothing to find his way in the world and didn't care who or what he would have to sacrifice to get it.

"Well, as you can imagine, that didn't sit too well with Jack. He wasn't going to let innocent people or Pokémon suffer and die because of his brother's ambition. So . . . he went to go stop his brother before he started his vendetta. William had already started gathering followers, trainers who saw Pokémon as nothing more as tools of war. They called themselves the Order of Obscurus. Jack asked all trainers that he could find to help him stop William. I may have been a hard-headed trainer back then who wouldn't stop at nothing to become a master, but that didn't mean that I didn't care about my Pokémon or any Pokémon in general. I joined up with Jack and helped him stop his brother. William was defeated and he fled, leaving his followers to pick up the pieces. Eventually, he became a well-respected businessman with good influence and started again. By that time, Jack had already gotten his own team together, trainers who joined with him to stop William and his band of traitors. I was with Jack and so was your mother. We called our team the Defenders of Justice.

"But of course, we hadn't simply been fighting William all that time. We all had our own lives to live, as we should have. And we did. Rosemary and Jack fell deeply in love and got married. They were barely married one month when Rosemary became pregnant."

Lydia had been staring at Mr. Turner the entire time with Jesse's hands on her shoulders, his tale sinking in, but now she spoke. "With me?" she asked, sure that she already knew the answer. And she was right as she saw him shake his head.

"Not exactly," he said softly, staring into his mug. "It wasn't just you, Lydia. There was another."

"Another?" Jennie echoed. "What do you mean, another?" She looked around at Lydia, who had a pensive look on her face. "I thought that you said that you didn't have any siblings."

"I assume she was never told, since she didn't even know about this," her father pointed out. "He was raised far away from here, in Kanto."

Lydia raised her head to look at Mr. Turner. "It's Hayden," she said, understanding filling through her. Partly, anyway. "Hayden's my brother."

Mr. Turner nodded once. "Hayden Talon," he answered quietly. "Firstborn child and only son of Jack and Rosemary Talon and your older brother, born two years before you were. Why Jack never told you any of this, never gave you any clue . . ." He sighed and shook his head. "Anyway, when Hayden was a year old, I left to go track down some of William's old followers who were causing trouble. That was when I met and fell in love Cecilia and when she became pregnant with you, Jess.

"She was beyond furious when she found out that I was a part of the Defenders, but she reluctantly accepted it as a part of who I was. When I returned with my wife, who was a few months pregnant by then, I found Rosemary with another child, this time a daughter." Lydia stared at him; she was younger than Jesse by a few months. How was that possible? "And by that time, she was already with child again. With you," he added.

"I have a sister?" Lydia whispered, shock reeling through her. "A brother and a sister?"

Mr. Turner nodded. "When you were born, William seized the opportunity to kidnap your sister Alison. She was barely a year old and your father was nearly destroyed with grief. But he tried his best to keep the family together while searching for your sister.

"Well, then William did an unexpected thing: he gave her location to his brother and Jack, overjoyed, left to go bring her home. Your mother was thrilled that you would finally get to meet your sister and that your brother would see her again. But unfortunately, that happy meeting was cut short. Jack was attacked and thrust into a coma during his rescue mission and then William came for your family.

"He took them to his secret base, not too far away from here, actually, and kept your mother, your brother, and you there. When he threatened your lives, your mother agreed to his consents. She turned over custody of you and Hayden to William. It was the last thing that she wanted to do, Lydia, but she would rather love you as another man's daughter than to have to mourn you as her child."

Lydia felt the tears running down her face as Jesse wrapped her arms around her, holding her tightly. "And Jack?" she asked quietly. "When did he wake up from his coma?"

"Right after she agreed to his consents," Mr. Turner answered softly. "And when William found out, he knew that his brother would be coming for him and would destroy him for what he did to his family, so he did what he could to protect himself."

"He killed my mother," Lydia whispered, the foul taste in her mouth. "Took me to Rosewaters Isle to raise as his own child, sent my brother away from here."

"When Jack found him, he pretty much fought William for everything he was worth," Mr. Turner sighed. "I think he would have killed his brother if the police hadn't arrived. It was a mistake on Jack's part; the police had seen enough to know that Jack wasn't in his right mind and he was put on a restraining order, to stay clear of both you and your brother until you were thirteen years of age."

It fit. As much as Lydia's mind tried to find a loophole, everything made some sort of twisted sense. Why her uncle had left without contacting her since she was three. Why she was able to write him as her contact without any problems. It was after the restriction had been lifted. And the argument . . . that was why he had left, because of what William had done to him and his family. Her brother, sent away to Kanto, which was why she didn't know about him. And her sister . . . her sister . . .

"What about my sister?" she asked. "What about Alison? Did anybody ever find her? Did Jack find her before he was attacked?"

Mr. Turner looked at her with some pity in his eyes. "No," he said quietly. "No, no one ever did. She was presumed dead years ago, but nobody ever found the body. Jack gave up on finding her after he lost you and your brother. He became a broken man, until William started gathering his troops again. That was when he called in the old crowd. The war's starting up again, kids," he said with a sigh. "And I hope you three aren't around here when it hits."

--

Lydia sat outside the Turner house that night, Umbreon right next to her with his head in his trainer's lap as Jesse came outside, carrying two cups of hot chocolate. She looked up at him as he handed her one before sitting down next to her, taking a sip of his own mug. Slowly drinking her own, Lydia was silent for a long moment before she spoke.

"Thank you."

Jesse glanced at her sideways. "For what?" he asked, giving her a small wry smile. "For not telling you things that you already know? For not saying that it's all going to be okay when it isn't? For not—" He shook his head. "What good would it do saying anything about this? Everything that I could say, you already know."

With a small nod, Lydia looked at him. "He's wrong, you know," she said quietly. "William's not just going to leave me alone. Whether Jack or your dad or anybody else wants it, we're gonna be involved in this war, whether we want to or not. I've got the feeling we're not going to have much of a choice in the matter." She sighed.

"We've always got a choice," Jesse said quietly. "And my choice is this: no matter what you choose, I'm going to be behind you. You're my best friend, Lydia, and you always will be. Nobody is ever going to compare to you." He smiled as he wrapped his arm around her. "You're cold."

"Yeah, well, it's a chilly night," Lydia replied as she leaned into his embrace, staring out into the night. She sighed as she gazed up at the stars. "It seems like such a long time ago that I was back at Rosewaters Isle and the most important thing on my mind was finding out how I could become a trainer without my father's permission."

"My main priority was escaping from that jailhouse of a Pokémon school," Jesse mused. "That was over a year ago; it does feel like a long time." Lydia shook her head as Jesse grinned. "You know, I don't know if I ever thanked you for calling Jennie. If you hadn't . . . I wouldn't have gotten my sister back."

Lydia nodded silently. "I'm starting to think I finally understand what that feels like," she whispered, thinking of Alison, the sister she'd never even met, and of Hayden, the brother who was trying so hard to protect her. "I hope Jamie understands how much you love her one day."

"Me, too," Jesse agreed as he looked sideways at her. "You think that your sister might still be alive?"

"Hey, I'm supposed to be the psychic, not you."

"That wasn't me being psychic, that was me knowing you," Jesse said, mimicking her from earlier that day. She smiled faintly and he set his mug down next to him on the steps. "If you want me to say it, then fine, I'll say it: there's a possibility that she's alive, Lydia, yeah, but sometimes maybe it's better to cling to the fantasy of what might have been instead of ruining everything with reality."

"But what if she's going through unimaginable torture or something?" Lydia challenged. "William sent his nephew to an orphanage and raised his niece thinking that he was her father, never telling her about her brother or sister and not bothering to mention that he wasn't her father or that he'd murdered her mother. Who knows what he could be doing to her?"

"Who knows that he is?" Jesse looked at her with a careful look on his face. "Look, Lydia, you know that I understand this whole 'wanting to save your family thing' better than anybody. Except maybe Jennie. But going on a fixed mission trying to find a sister that may or may not be alive and who may or may not want to be rescued is no way to live your life. We'll keep our ears and eyes open, but wherever she is, if she's alive, she may not want to be found. She could be trying to keep herself safe. And anyway, you're forgetting something."

"What's that?"

"You've got a brother who may hold all of the answers out there." Jesse inclined his head towards the dark town. "Why don't you go talk to him?"

Lydia smiled as she saw the silhouette of Hayden in the distance. "Sure that's a good idea?" she asked.

"Hey, I don't like the guy, but that doesn't mean that he may not know something that could make you happy. Besides, he's your brother."

This thought obviously pleased him, knowing that Hayden was related to her, though she couldn't imagine why. "Boys," she sighed as she stood up, setting the cup of hot chocolate on the porch as she pulled her jacket on all the way instead of just sitting on her shoulders. "So . . . how about we get up early tomorrow and go to the gym? You up for it?"

"I'm ready and my team's psyched to go up against the ghost boy," Jesse said with a grin, "especially Gastly. I think he would love to prove to the leader how good a trainer he's got. But I'm a little worried about you. You've had a rough day and honestly, I'm not sure that you're emotionally ready for a gym battle, Lydia."

Giving him a smile, Lydia placed her hands on her hips as she turned to look at him, light brown hair falling into her blue eyes. "Trust me, Jess," she said sweetly, "I have never been more ready for anything in my entire life."

Jesse looked like he was going to protest further, but upon seeing the look in her eyes, he didn't. "You know," he said instead, "I really think that you might be." He glanced towards where Hayden was watching them. "Don't be too long, okay, if we're going to the gym tomorrow. We're gonna need some sleep if we're going to be battling for badges."

"I won't be." Lydia smiled at him. "Go on, I won't be long."

"I'll tell Dad to leave it open for you," Jesse said as he took her mug and headed into the house.

Lydia smiled faintly as she climbed off the porch, heading into the night as Hayden came fully into view, leaning against the tree. "Hey," she said conversationally as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Hey," he replied.

Just as he was about to continue, she cut across him. "So got something you want to tell me?" she asked, giving him a flat smile. "Brother?"


	27. Reunion

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Twenty-seven: Reunion

To say that Hayden looked surprised would have been the understatement of the millennium. He actually lost all of the colour in his face and he took a step back, away from her, his arms dropped to his sides as his blue eyes—eyes that she hadn't realised until now were in the exact same shape and colour as her own—went wide. Opening his mouth, he stuttered a few incomprehensible words before he finally shut it, taking a few deep breaths as he gazed at Lydia.

"Hayden," she whispered, staring at her older brother, a lump starting to form in her throat as she took a step towards him. He actually took another step back, flinching away from her. "Hey . . ." she said, chuckling slightly. He looked at her. "Don't be a baby. I'm not gonna hurt you."

Hayden relaxed slightly as she said that and she took another step towards him and another and another until she was right next to him, staring up into her brother's face. "Lydia . . ." he whispered, looking more vulnerable than she had ever seen him. Granted, she had only known him for a little more than a week, but he had always appeared strong and dependable, as though he could have carried the entire weight of the world on his shoulders and it would be nothing. Now, he looked scared and anxious as she looked at him. "I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you. I just . . . couldn't find the words. I didn't know if you were safer not knowing."

"Shh." Lydia stood on her tiptoes and embraced her brother for the first time in almost twelve years. She was stunned at how natural and familiar this felt, as though no time had passed and she was still a one-year-old baby being held by her older brother. Hayden's arms hesitantly went around her and he pulled her tighter to him. "It's okay," she reassured him. "It's okay, Hayden."

How long they stayed like that, holding one another, long lost brother and sister reunited, Lydia had no idea. The moon already was higher in the sky by the time that they sat down on the ground and started talking, shining down on the two siblings. Lydia was leaning against the tree while Hayden sat across from her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lydia asked him at long last, looking up at him. His blue eyes looked to her identical ones. "When we met, why didn't you tell me who you were?"

"Would you have believed me?" Hayden asked her quietly. "You were so fixed on the idea that Mom died giving birth to you, Lydia, and that Jack was your uncle. If I had told you then and there that I was your older brother and that Jack was your father, would you have believed me?"

Lydia opened her mouth to protest, but she fell silent, considering the question thoroughly. "No," she said at long last. "No, probably not." She paused as this sunk in. "Why do you call him by his first name? You call our mother 'Mom,' but you don't call Uncle Jack 'Dad.'" She winced. "Sorry, hard to break the habit."

"Don't worry about it. I call him Jack because he doesn't feel like my father. Because of what he did, I was forced to grow up in a country away from my little sister and alone." His eyes were filled with rage. "If he had just had the common sense to stay away from William, then maybe we wouldn't have been broken up. Maybe we would've been a family. Maybe Mom would still be alive!" His voice shook the trees slightly and Lydia pulled her brother against her, letting his head lay on her shoulder as she held him. He was shaking with rage, but it lessened as she held him. "This is strange," he observed after a minute.

"What is?"

"You comforting _me_," Hayden said with a wry smile. She frowned in bewilderment. "I'm the older brother, I'm supposed to watch and take care of you, not the other way around."

Lydia chuckled. "Why don't we take care of each other?" she suggested as he sat up. "Hayden, why don't you come with me and my friends? Please?" she asked pleadingly. "I just got you back, I don't want to lose you again."

Hayden stared at her for a long moment. "I want to say yes," he said finally. "I do, Lydia, but . . . I can't. There are some things that you don't understand, that I hope you never have to. This is the work that I have to do. I won't be far, if you need me."

"What work?" Lydia demanded. "With the Defenders? Are you working with Un—with our father?"

With a small sigh, Hayden shook his head. "No," he said quietly. "I can't explain it to you. But I promise you, I'm not going to be far away. Lydia," he said softly, seeing her crestfallen expression. "I'm not going to leave you alone, okay? Not again. Not ever. No matter what happens, I'll always be there when you need me." He wrapped his arms around her as he held her to him and Lydia laid her head on her brother's chest. "I love you."

Lydia looked up at Hayden, wide-eyed. "Nobody's ever said that to me before," she whispered softly. "At least, not that I can remember. I guess our parents said it to me when we lived with them, but I don't remember. William never said it to me." Hayden's eyes were hard as she said that and his arms tightened around her. "I love you, too."

Hayden smiled faintly, but the hard look in his eyes didn't vanish. "Man, you've had a tough life, haven't you?"

"Hasn't been so bad lately," Lydia admitted. "It's gotten better since I've left Rosewaters Isle." She leaned back against the tree, staring up at the stars. "Hayden?"

"Hmm?"

"What was Mom like?"

Looking at her for a long moment, Hayden sighed as he leaned against the tree with her, looking at the stars. "I was three when she died," he said at long last. "I don't remember much, but . . . I remember she used to take us outside, on clear nights like this one. We would sit down on the steps at our house in Cherrygrove and look up at the stars. And she would sit with us and trace Pokémon in the stars. You had such little hands, then," he said, grinning at her. He looked down at her hands. "Still do."

Lydia smacked him playfully and he grinned. Then she sobered up, her thoughts drifting to her other sibling. "Do you know about Alison?"

Hayden looked at her. "Yeah," he said quietly. "And she's still alive, Lydia, but I don't know where. If I saw her, maybe I'd know her, but . . . I was never as close to her as I was to you. Alison was always so different. And she was only a year old when I saw her last."

"So was I."

That comment caused Hayden to look at her quickly and he considered this as he studied her before wrapping his arm around her. "Yeah," he said quietly. "Yeah, you were. I promise, I'll keep an eye out, but for some reason, I think this answer lies right underneath our noses."

"You, too?" Lydia said with a chuckle. Hayden smiled. "Where'd you grow up, anyway?"

"Saffron City, in Kanto," Hayden answered. "Good place for psychics, but I hated it. The orphanage that I was at had no privacy and I shared a room with about fifteen other boys. Believe me, getting my Pokémon license was a way out of that place."

"What was your first Pokémon?" she asked, eager to know more about his life before she knew him. All she really knew about him, anyway, was that he was her brother.

"Believe it or not, an Eevee," Hayden said, smirking. Lydia's eyes grew wide at this. "Eventually, she evolved into an Espeon. We went to the Indigo League together, with the rest of my team. Left most of them behind with a Pokémon researcher back home so I could start again, with only Espeon. I was gonna enter the Johto League here, but . . . then I found out about you."

"Why don't you?"

Hayden shrugged. "There are other things that are more important than being a master, Lydia," he said quietly. "Like family and protecting the world."

"In order to do what's right, you have to give up the things you want the most," Lydia said softly. She looked up at him. "Why do I have to learn to use my powers so badly?"

Hayden hesitated, then gave in. "Because . . . you're gonna be in more danger than you realise, in the end," he said quietly. "And knowing how to use them is the only way that you'll survive." He paused. "Jack knows that you're psychic, Lydia, and I don't know if he'd try and use you against William to win this war, but you can't trust him."

--

_She was back in the dream, back in the place that lay between the living and the dead. There had only been one time she'd been here before and that was when her mother had contacted her through her dreams. Was this the same thing? Was her mother trying to reach her? _

_"Mom!" Lydia called as she scanned through the mists, searching for her long-dead mother. "Mom! Mom, are you there?" Her heart raced in anticipation as she searched for her mother. "Mom?" _

_"I'm here, darling." Her mother's voice bounced off of the mists, coming to her as Lydia stared through them, praying that she would be able to see her mother this time. Unfortunately, the mists would not part, would not let Rosemary Talon see her daughter or let her daughter see her. "You've done well, my darling girl. You've found some of the truth." _

_"Why couldn't anyone have just told me the truth? Wouldn't it have been easier than all of these lies? I am so sick of everyone twisting around the truth just to manipulate or protect me!"_

_"They mean well, Jack and Jared . . . they have been through so much, daughter." Her mother's voice, kind and compassionate, wrapped Lydia in its warmth. "It's been hard on everyone." _

_"What about Alison, Mom? What about my sister? Is she all right? What happened to her?" _

_"I have very little time to explain, Lydia, so you have to listen." Rosemary's voice was firm this time, harder than she had ever heard her mother's voice. "When Jack left to go find your sister and William kidnapped the three of us, we had no idea that your sister's kidnapping was only the beginning. He wanted to turn all three of you against your father. It was the worst punishment he could have invented for your father, sweetheart." _

_"It worked, didn't it? Hayden hates Uncle—Dad. I could feel it when he talked about him." Lydia didn't know whether or not Hayden's hatred was justified, but she did believe that he loved her and that he would do anything to protect her. _

_"Your brother doesn't hate your father. Quite the contrary. It's just easier to hate him than to face his feelings of abandonment. Growing up in that orphanage with no one to depend on and no one to turn to was hard on him." _

_"I wish that we'd grown up together," Lydia whispered softly. "Maybe he wouldn't feel so alone, then." The thought of growing up in an orphanage with Hayden was a far better alternative than growing up in her vindictive uncle's house. _

_"Things would be easier, better, then, yes," her mother agreed. "But nothing is ever easy. There is always a price to be paid in the end." She paused for a long moment. "But Hayden's hatred of Jack is only on the surface. Underneath, there is a deep compassion for him. Hayden's wariness for your father may be justified, when the time comes. In the end, you must decide for yourself whether or not your father can be trusted. I can only tell you this: he has changed from the man I fell in love with. Whether or not this is good or bad, still remains to be decided." _

_"And what about Alison? Mom, you said that William was trying to turn all three of us against him and with Hayden he nearly succeeded!" Lydia could feel her mother's presence fading away. "Mom, don't go!" she shouted. "Mom, what happened to Alison?" _

_"I'm sorry, sweetheart," her mother whispered. "It's time for me to go." Her voice was fading away. "Trust Hayden, Lydia. Believe in him. Your bond with him is strong. You will find your sister. It's your destiny. Only you can unmask her when the time comes, because you have seen something of the truth but haven't acknowledge it." _

_"What do you mean?" Lydia realised that her mother was gone and she looked wildly around through the mists. "Mom! Mom, don't go! Mom! MOM!" _

"Lydia, wake up!" Jesse was shaking her as she thrashed in bed and she sat straight up, her hand sailing through the air. He jumped back just in time to avoid it and Lydia took several deep breaths as she stared up at him. "Are you okay?" He looked scared.

After a long moment, Lydia nodded. "Yeah," she said softly. "Yeah, I'm fine." She pulled her knees up and hugged them tightly. "I'm okay."

Jesse stared at her for a long moment, then nodded as he slowly left the room, where she saw his father and sister standing outside the door. "She's fine, just let her be," she heard him say as he closed the door. Conversation continued, but she ignored them.

Her mother said that she would find her sister. It was only a question of when and where.


	28. The Ghost Gym

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Twenty-eight: The Ghost Gym

"Come on, kids!" Lydia groaned slightly as she heard Mr. Turner's voice yell up the stairs. "Breakfast is ready and two of you have to get ready for a gym battle today!"

"Yeah, but the other one would still like to sleep some!" Jennie yelled. "Oh, jeez, I'm starting to pick up on Jesse's habits!" Lydia shoved her pillow over her head to block out the family's yelling.

After a few more minutes, she climbed out of bed and started to get dressed, staring at her reflection for a minute before she started heading downstairs, Umbreon at her heels as she picked up her bag. She hadn't gotten much sleep last night, after she'd woken up in the middle of the night. She felt as though she'd missed something with her mother, but as usual on the day of a gym battle, all other thoughts swept through her mind as she thought about the battle.

"So, what's the gym leader like, anyway?" she asked as Mr. Turner placed a pile of pancakes in the middle of the table and everyone started serving themselves.

"Morty's all right," Mr. Turner answered as Jennie climbed downstairs, brushing her hand through her hair as she slumped down into the table, glaring at her brother. "He's experienced, though. And with only ghost Pokémon, you're gonna have a tough time. Sleep all right, Jennie?"

"Yeah, until somebody started yelling in the middle of the night," Jennie said, giving Lydia an evil eye. Lydia looked down at her hands, missing the scowl that Jesse sent his sister. "What was all of that about, Lydia? A bad dream or something?"

"Or something," Lydia muttered. "I had another dream about Mom. I don't know if it's a dream or something else, but it's just really creeping me out. She made it seem like Jack wasn't a good guy or something."

"He's not the same man he was twelve years ago, I'll tell you that," Mr. Turner told her gently. "Losing your wife and all three of your children can change a man. I speak from experience," he added quietly. Jesse looked down and Jennie bit her lip. "But I can't help you decide whether or not your father is the bad guy, Lydia. You're going to have to decide for yourself which side you're on. And live with that decision."

Lydia sighed, brushing her hand through her hair. "I really need to go take out some anger on some ghosts," she muttered as she stood up. "Do you want help cleaning up?"

"No, you three go ahead," Mr. Turner said with a smile. "And have fun. Remember, battling isn't all about winning. Even if you lose, you're still a winner, so long as you battle your hardest."

"Thanks, Dad," Jesse said, rolling his eyes. "Where'd you hear that? Parents' Guide Weekly?"

His father looked embarrassed. "Well . . . yes," he admitted and Lydia stifled a laugh.

"Come on, guys, let's hit the gym," she said, biting her lip to keep from laughing. Jesse shook his head and followed her as Jennie finished her pancakes and scrambled to catch up with them. Lydia stopped at the door and looked back towards their father for a minute. "Hang on," she told them, walking back to the kitchen. Mr. Turner glanced up at her as she returned. "Um . . . Mr. Turner? Don't tell Jack that I know," she requested. "Not until I know what it means."

Mr. Turner considered her for a long moment, then nodded. "All right," he agreed. "I won't. But you have to tell him eventually, because the truth always comes out in the end. I think you've learned that over the past couple of days," he added with a smile.

"Yeah . . ." Lydia sighed as she returned to her friends, walking outside into the ghost city. "I know."

The gym wasn't hard to find. It was one of the largest buildings in town and looked more like a haunted house than a gym, but considering where they were, that wasn't too surprising. Lydia stopped at the sign and read it aloud as they approached it. "'Ecruteak City Gym. Leader Morty, the Mystic Seer of the Future.' Catchy," she commented, glancing at her friends.

"Well, let's go beat up some ghosts," Jesse said as he walked past her, pushing open the door. Lydia hurried to catch up with her as they walked in the gym and a blond guy a couple of years older than they were approached them, a steel glint in his eyes.

"Challengers?" he asked.

"Those two," Jennie told her. "I'm just the spectator."

"Spectator?" Jesse rolled his eyes towards her. "You're not a spectator, you're just a kid sister." Lydia started giggling for the first time in days, feeling the stress start to lift off of her as Morty grinned.

"Watch it," Jennie said, waving a hand threateningly at him. "Now, can we get this show on the road? I haven't had a good laugh since Wendy nearly sliced and diced you back in Goldenrod." She grinned as Morty's eyebrows went up slightly.

"You went up against Wendy?" he asked. "She's just a kid. If you ask me, Whitney was a little premature when she decided to let her sister take over. Well, come on, the battlefield's over here. Which one of you is going first?" he asked. Lydia, who'd had to go first for the last two gym battles, gave Jesse a push in front of her.

"Okay, I totally deserved that," he grumbled as Lydia smiled pleasantly at him. "Inside joke," he said quickly to the bemused gym leader. "Don't ask."

"Wasn't gonna," Morty said with a shrug as Jennie and Lydia sat down on the bleachers as the judge took Jesse's Pokédex and entered it into the computers. "All right, kid, simple rules here. Two Pokémon each, no substitutions. We're done when either one of us has no Pokémon left to battle with. Got it?"

"Yep, clean and simple," Jesse said with a shrug as his Pokédex was returned. "So can we do this?"

"You're in a hurry to get whipped," Morty observed, but grinned. "All right, then, let's go."

"This battle between Jesse Turner of Alyson City and Leader Morty of Ecruteak City will now begin!" the judge called as Morty released his first Pokémon, which turned out to be none other than a Gastly.

"I would think he would have a higher evolved one," Jennie whispered as Jesse released his own Gastly onto the field.

"He probably does," Lydia said just as quietly. "My guess is he's gonna use it as his second. Besides, I think that Gastly is at a really high level." She frowned slightly as she looked between the two. "Actually, this is going to be interesting."

Both Jesse and Morty stared at each other for a full minute before they reacted. Jesse's Gastly and Morty's Gastly both attacked each other with such awesome force that Lydia could've sworn that they were fighting for each other's honours as ghost Pokémon. Neither one of them was ready to give up and it was exhausting the both of them.

As both Gastly released night shades onto one another, it caused a titanic explosion, which filled the room with a thick smoke, causing Jennie to shriek with surprise. "What's going on?" she asked frantically. "Are they both all right? What's going on down there?"

"I don't know." Lydia couldn't tell, even with her psyche, what had happened with the ghost Pokémon. All of the eeriness of this town was throwing her readings off. "Just hang on, Jen, it should clear in an instant." Lydia bit her lip as the smoke finally began to clear. "See? Everything's . . . fine," she finished as she saw the scene that lay before them.

One Gastly was lying unconscious on the floor while the other one was hovering above their opponent, even somewhat painfully, but still conscious. Lydia gasped in surprise as even the two trainers looked awestruck, unable to tell which one was which. Even the judge looked bewildered, looking between the two.

"How are they supposed to tell which one is which?" Jennie asked as Lydia gave her a look. "Oh. Right."

The conscious Gastly flew over to Jesse, circling around him before lying on his shoulder, rubbing his cheek affectionately. Lydia smiled and let out a cheer as Morty reluctantly recalled his Gastly just as a brilliant light surrounded from Jesse's Gastly. Jennie gasped as she saw it. "Wait a minute," she whispered. "Is that . . ."

"He's evolving!" Lydia announced, though this was completely obvious to everyone in the room. Gastly grew bigger and sprouted hands that were missing arms and when the glow finished, he looked around at everyone.

"Haunter," he said in a deeper voice than he had before. Jennie squealed in delight as Morty looked awestruck, nodding with approval.

"Well, this certainly is a surprise," he commented. "Ready to continue, boy?" Jesse looked annoyed at being addressed as a boy, but nodded. "Good, let's go. Gengar!" The third evolution of Gastly's family appeared on the field and Haunter moved back onto the field. Lydia frowned; even though he had just evolved, she wasn't sure if Haunter could continue the battle or not. He looked exhausted.

Oh, he tried, but eventually, his exhaustion won out and he passed out onto the field, forcing Jesse to recall him. Lydia bit her lip as she stared at her best friend. What now? she thought. Ivysaur, Natu, Totodile, Scyther, which one would he choose?

Scyther was still weak from being attacked by his old trainer and still reluctant to listen to Jesse, even though he'd rescued him. Ivysaur and Totodile weren't particularly strong against ghosts and Natu . . . well, given Lydia's abilities were being thrown off in this town, it was pretty obvious that psychics weren't good against ghosts.

But of course, when did he ever listen to her? Lydia wondered as Jesse threw the Pokéball and released Natu. She released a sigh as she leaned back in the bleachers, shaking her head. Jennie stared at her brother like he'd lost his mind.

"Is he insane?" she asked Lydia. "Has he gone mental since he left home? Because while psychics aren't weak against ghosts, ghosts have a super advantage over them."

"I know." Lydia sighed. "But then again, so do bugs. And he did win his match against Bugsy with Natu at a clear disadvantage. Who knows? Maybe he's got a plan up his sleeve. Natu _does_ know some ghost moves and those work well against other ghosts."

"Let's hope so," Jennie muttered as the battle resumed. Natu was doing really well until Gengar pulled a confuse ray on her from behind, which only ended up with her hurting herself.

"Come on, Natu! Focus!" Jesse yelled to her as she twirled her confused eyes to her trainer. "Close your eyes, concentrate. Find where he's going to be." Natu's eyes closed as Gengar disappeared to appear right in front of her. "Now! Night shade!"

Natu released the ghost type attack, which at such a close range packed a powerful punch, sending Gengar into the floor, unconscious. Morty's eyes widened as he ran to his fallen Pokémon.

"Gengar is unable to battle! Victory goes to Jesse Turner of Alyson City!" the judge called. Morty stood up as Lydia climbed down from the bleachers to take Jesse's place. "Sir? Are you ready to continue with the match?"

"Go ahead," Morty assured him as he returned Gengar to his Pokéball.

The judge nodded as Lydia handed him her Pokédex and he entered the information in the computer before handing it back to her. "Very well, then. This match between Lydia Talon of Rosewaters Isle and Leader Morty of Ecruteak City shall now begin!"

"Umbreon, go!" Lydia told the dark Pokémon that was her constant shadow. He gave a bark as he barrelled onto the field as Morty released a Haunter. "Okay, what's that about? He only got to deal with a Gastly on the first match." She directed her head towards Jesse.

"Hey, that Gastly was tough!" Jesse protested, but he was grinning. So was Morty.

"If it makes you feel any better, this Haunter is newly evolved," he told her, still grinning. "I still don't know all of his strengths just yet. So, you ready?" Lydia nodded. "Good. Haunter, hypnosis!"

"Dodge it!" Lydia called as Umbreon leaped into the air to avoid the attack that would put him straight to sleep. "Now, hit it with pursuit!" She hoped that the attack would continue, even if Umbreon did get himself out of the battle. If it did, then she would have a clear advantage.

The attack hit in full force and Haunter managed to get up, but not before Umbreon released a faint attack, which Lydia had been completely unaware that he knew how to do. "Wow, cool," she muttered under her breath. "Okay, Umbreon, let's get him dizzy, why don't we?"

Umbreon took the hint and hit Haunter with a confuse ray. Plus, the pursuit was still on Haunter, causing him to be knocked out of the match.

Morty took a few deep breaths as he recalled the ghost, staring down at the Pokéball for a minute before he looked up, grinning.

"Not badly, little girl," he said, still grinning as he pulled out another Pokéball, replacing Haunter's in his pocket. "But you haven't won yet. This one . . . isn't going to be so easy. Misdreavus, come on out!" He threw the new Pokéball into the air, releasing another ghost, but this one was completely different from the Gastly family.

"Misdreavus, psybeam now!" Morty called. Lydia stared at him, incredulous; did he forget that psychic attacks had absolutely no effect whatsoever on dark Pokémon? "Now, move in with Spite!"

"Umbreon, don't let it hit!" Lydia called, but unfortunately, Umbreon had been out longer than Misdreavus and the ghost hit him with the spite move. "Okay, it's time to put this ghost back in its place. Faint attack!" she called and Umbreon dashed forward, but at the last second, Misdreavus dived in behind him and used the confuse ray. "All right, Umbreon, return!"

Dazed, Umbreon managed to return to his trainer's side and she knelt down beside him, making sure that he was okay before she looked up at her friends in the stands.

"Jess!" Lydia called, waving him over. Jesse hurried down the steps as she gently picked up Umbreon, placing him in her best friend's arms. "Take care of him," she told him.

"Don't worry, I got him," Jesse assured her as he carried Umbreon back up the stairs to his sister as Lydia turned her attention back to the match, facing Morty as she thought about which Pokémon to use. Cubone wasn't going to be much good here, she thought as she stared at Misdreavus. That left Poliwag or Cyndaquil. Pulling out a Pokéball, she made her decision in the last possible second.

"Poliwag! I choose you!" Releasing the water Pokémon, Lydia caught the flying Pokéball in the air as the tadpole Pokémon blinked as she looked around the battlefield, thrilled to be back in the action. "All right, Poliwag, it's time to give them a show! Rain dance!"

The choice for the move was reasonable; it would increase the power of the water type moves that Poliwag had. Which was good, because the normal ones she had would have absolutely no effect.

"What do you know? It didn't work," Morty said sardonically as Poliwag's attack did absolutely nothing to Misdreavus—not that it was supposed to, though, Lydia thought. He should know that, being a gym leader.

"Not to you," Lydia replied as Poliwag released a powerful water gun attack that slammed into Misdreavus, sending her flying into the opposite wall. "It did to us."

"You upped her power," Morty realised a second later as Misdreavus came back onto the field, looking mad. "Okay, wasn't expecting that. Let's finish them off, Misdreavus. Psybeam!" The psychic attack, which did nothing to Umbreon, was unfortunately effective against Poliwag. She didn't move as well on land, which made it hard to avoid.

"Use bubble!" Lydia called. "And then use hydro pump!" She prayed that it would work, because Poliwag wasn't gonna stand a chance against another psychic attack.

Morty's eyes went wide as the hydro pump and bubble attacks hit and Misdreavus was sent crashing to the ground and didn't get back up. Morty hurried over to her. "Misdreavus is unable to battle!" the judge called. "The winner of this match is Lydia Talon of Rosewaters Isle!"

"We did it!" Lydia shrieked as Umbreon, fully recovered, hurried back down to his trainer just as, for the second time that day, a brilliant white light filled the auditorium, only this time, it surrounded Poliwag. "Hey, what . . . oh, my . . . she's . . ."

"Evolving," Jesse finished up for her. "It makes sense; we caught them at the same time and they're supposed to evolve at the same level." Lydia grinned as Poliwag began to grow bigger and sprouted arms that came out of her sides. Her eyes grew bigger and her tail disappeared. The swirl on her stomach changed directions as she looked up at her trainer.

"Poliwhirl," she said as she ran to Lydia, who hugged her tightly as Umbreon climbed into her lap. Morty smiled as he watched the sight for a minute before heading over to them.

"Congratulations," he said, looking at the both of them. "You two have earned these." He handed them each a Fog Badge. "This proves that you've won your match here. You've done a good job with your Haunter, by the way," he added, looking at Jesse.

"Thanks," Jesse said with a grin. "You, too." Morty grinned as Jennie climbed down to rejoin them.

"Well, good luck on your journey," Morty told them. "Where you heading after this?"

"Olivine," Lydia told them as they headed outside. "Then to Cianwood. Or vice versa, we haven't decided which."

"Well, either way, you should stop by the Whirl Islands. There are a lot of different ones there, mostly water, of course, but there's also some ice ones . . ."

"Ice? Really?" Jennie said, her eyes wide. Morty nodded. "Let's go!" She practically pushed them out the door with Morty waved them goodbye, looking bewildered at the strange girl.


	29. Finding a Civilisation

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Twenty-nine: Finding a Civilisation

Lydia stared up at the stars as she lay in her sleeping bag, the cool breeze that flew through the trees making the August night almost pleasant, even in the dark woods. She smiled slightly as she turned over on her side, stroking Umbreon absently as she noticed Jesse's empty sleeping bag. Sitting up, she looked around the campsite, expecting the dark haired trainer to appear out of nowhere.

"Jesse?" she whispered as loudly as she dared, not wanting to wake Jennie as she slowly pushed aside her blankets, grabbing her jacket as she stood up, casting out her psyche to search for her best friend. Walking to where she sensed him at, she was startled to find Scyther flying directly towards him with Jesse in hot pursuit, finally forced to recall him, slowing to a stop right next to Lydia, bending over to catch his breath.

She bit her lip sympathetically as she helped him stand up. "He's still not obeying you, is he?" she inquired and Jesse sighed, shaking his head as he looked down at Scyther's Pokéball. "Well, Jess, it's not really his fault, you know. I mean, he was attacked by his former trainer. It's got to be hard to trust any humans after that."

"I know, Lydia, it's just so hard to help him if he won't even trust me," Jesse said with a sigh. "And I can't release him, 'cause Nurse Joy said that he wouldn't survive on his own."

Lydia nodded as she wrapped her arm around Jesse's as they walked back to the campsite. "Well, you're doing the best you can and anybody would commend you for it," she said gently with a smile at him. "I mean, despite Scyther's best efforts to ignore you and try and make you go away, you're still staying with him and trying to help him."

Jesse managed a small smile as they arrived back at the campsite, sitting down next to the nearly died out fire, returning Scyther's Pokéball to his pocket. She sighed, rubbing his arm gently as she lay back down. "I think he knows how much you care, Jess," she said quietly. "And one day, he's gonna realise that all you're trying to do is help him. When that day comes, he'll try and help you. Sometimes, people and Pokémon don't realise what they have until it's shoved into their faces."

"We talking about you now, aren't we?" Jesse asked with a small smile at her and Lydia managed a weak smile as she lay down in her sleeping bag. "Is that brother of yours still following us?"

"He said that he'd be around if I needed him," Lydia replied, her thoughts drifting back to Hayden and Alison for a minute. "And thank you, Jess, that was a whole ten minutes that I'd gone without thinking about Alison."

"Sorry."

Lydia sighed. "It's all right, I didn't mean to snap. This whole thing is just so frustrating. I mean, up until a couple of days ago, I was an only child with a father who didn't care whether I lived or died. Now, I'm suddenly the youngest sibling with a father pretending to be my uncle, a missing sister, and a brother who hates our father with a passion." She smiled vaguely. "The whole thing is just kind of surreal."

Jesse glanced at her as she lay in her sleeping bag. "You know, I've been thinking . . . if you want to really find out what's going on, then why don't we go right to the source?" Lydia sat up as he said that, wondering what he meant by that. "Why don't we go to Rosewaters Isle and see your—see William and ask him what really happened back then?"

"Oh, no, we are so not going there," Lydia said flatly, shaking her head. "That is the one road that I'm not going to take. Jess, I know that he should probably have some answers, a lot of answers, but this is the guy who raised me to hate Pokémon, believe my mother died in childbirth, and oh, yeah, that he was actually my father."

"I'm not saying that it was a smart idea," Jesse argued, "I just think that he might actually have some answers."

"Not arguing that point, Jess, but you think he's willingly going to give them up?" Lydia shook her head. "No, he wouldn't. Not without a fight and he probably would call the police for trespassing the moment that I stepped onto his front lawn."

Jesse managed a small smile as she said that. "Okay, but I think that we should probably think about it." He smiled as he lay back down in his sleeping bag as Lydia lay down again, staring up at the stars. "Lydia?"

"Hmm?"

"What's gonna happen to all of us?" Jesse looked towards her and she turned her blue gaze back to him as she lifted her head to lay on her head. "With all of this, how's it gonna end?"

Lydia sighed. "When I figure that out," she replied. "I'll let you know." She lay back down, casting her gaze up towards the stars again.

There were many futures in motion, as many as there were stars in the sky. And depending on how everything turned out, they could be heading for a future that would change the very future of their existence. But whether it was for better or for worse, only time would tell.

It was a long time before Lydia finally fell asleep, looking over at Jesse, noticing that he was asleep in his own sleeping bag. He always looked so much younger when he was asleep. She watched him for a long moment before she turned on her side and slowly drifted off to sleep.

--

"So, when exactly are we going to get to the Whirl Islands?" Jennie wanted to know as they were walking along the road again, heading towards Olivine City, her head buried into a book about the islands that she'd picked up before leaving Ecruteak City.

"Not too long," Jesse answered as he shoved his hands into his pockets, looking around the forest. "We just have to get to Olivine and then it's a half-day's ride to the Whirl Islands. Of course, I'm not entirely sure that they've got a boat ride to there. We might have to find another way to get there," he added, glancing towards Lydia, who was only halfway paying attention. "Hey, Lydia, you in there? Hello?" he added with a smile, waving his hand in front of her.

"I can hear you, Jess," Lydia told her best friend. "Just thinking, all right? That thing that people who have brains have been known to do from time to time." Jennie cracked up as Jesse glared at her, but reluctantly grinned. Lydia grinned as she pulled tighter on her straps of her bag absently. "So are we gonna stop in Olivine for the gym first or just head straight to the Whirl Islands and then to Cianwood?"

"Personally, I think we should go to the Islands first," Jennie said helpfully and the two older trainers glanced at each other, rolling their eyes in exasperation. "Hey, just because you two catch whatever walks in front of you doesn't mean that I'm crazy."

"No, you're crazy because you are crazy," Jesse retorted and the two siblings started bickering loudly as they walked through the forest just as Lydia pulled out a picture that Mr. Turner had given her before they left. It was a photo of herself, Hayden, Jack, and Rosemary all standing outside of Jack's mansion back in Cherrygrove. The only person missing was Alison and that was because she had been kidnapped. She sighed as she slipped it back into her pocket, wondering just how much things were going to change before it all ended.

She hadn't called Jack since she had found out the truth, not sure whether or not she could speak to him at the moment without revealing what she knew and to be honest, she wasn't sure if she wanted him to know that she knew the truth. Between her dreams and Hayden, she wasn't sure if he was the one she should be trusting.

"Looks like it's gonna rain," Jesse suddenly said, breaking into her thoughts. All three of them looked up towards the blackened sky, which had been clear that morning, but had slowly turned dark without their noticing. "Oh, man. We'd better find someplace for cover before it hits. Looks like it might be a bad one."

"Not really arguing that point," Lydia commented as they broke into a run, trying to find anywhere that they could take cover from the storm, but they were in the middle of a forest, with no place for miles, until they reached Olivine.

"Hey, look, there's a cave there!" Jennie called, pointing up ahead as rain came pouring down, soaking them through in minutes. Lydia blinked through the rain where Jennie was pointing. "It's our best bet right now, let's go!" she ordered, splashing through the puddles with Jesse and Lydia behind her as they hurried into the cave, soaked through.

"Okay, everybody get into some dry clothes," Lydia ordered as she dug into her own bag for her extra pair of clothes. "Nobody's allowed to get sick." She and Jennie turned while Jesse kept his back turned and then the girls did the same while he got changed. In the dry clothes, everyone was considerably warmer as they looked out into the storm that raged overhead. "I can't believe how fast the storm came up."

"Well, we're stuck here for the night, might as well deal with it," Jennie grumbled as she released her Pokémon. "Come on, everybody, let's go explore the cave, all right?"

"Uh . . . Jen, I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Jesse told his sister as she walked away from them through the back of the cave. Both of them looked at each other in exasperation. "Why does she always have to be so stubborn?"

"Because she learned it from her older brother," Lydia answered simply as she and Umbreon went to go catch up with the younger trainer. Jesse rolled his eyes as he followed them.

"I suppose that accounts for the sweet disposition as well?" he replied, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Oh, no. That's all your mother." Jesse actually laughed as she said that and shook his head as they travelled further into the cave as it lowered. "Uh, Jennie? Where are you?" Lydia called, not seeing the blonde trainer.

There was no answer and both Jesse and Lydia looked at each other worriedly as Jesse tugged a flashlight out of his bag, but unfortunately forgot to put any batteries in the thing. "Okay, remind me to get some batteries if we ever get to Olivine," Jesse muttered as he shoved it back into his bag and released Natu. "Okay, Natu, can you find Jennie?"

"Cyndaquil, come on out!" Lydia announced, releasing the fire Pokémon. "Can you lead the way?" The fire Pokémon squealed in assurance as she led the group through the cave with Natu, searching for the blonde trainer. "Jennie! Can you hear me?" she called, her voice echoing throughout the cave.

Lydia didn't hear anything, however, but the sound of her own voices calling back to her. "I'm gonna kill her," Jesse hissed as they stepped further on down in the cave and suddenly the ground underneath their feet turned uneven. Lydia shrieked as they tumbled down as the path turned into a slide and they rode down, landing in a heap on the ground, where Jennie was sitting with her Pokémon, a bemused expression on her face.

"Hey, guys," she said cheerfully. "How's it going?" Lydia glared at her as she pushed herself up onto her knees as Cyndaquil crawled up into her lap, seeking comfort from the thrill ride they'd just had.

"Okay, missy, next time that you decide to go looking for trouble, take one of us along with you," Lydia growled at her, looking around them. "How are we going to get out of here?"

"Not sure, haven't had a chance to really explore it yet," Jennie said, shrugging as Jesse stood up, about to yell at his sister when his eyes travelled over to the walls, which Lydia had just now noticed had a lot of ancient drawings on them.

"Jennie, what did you find?" he whispered as he walked closer, examining one of the drawings. Lydia stood up with Cyndaquil in her arms as she walked closer to him, peering at the drawings. Jennie shrugged as she stood up, looking around the cavern as though noticing it for the first time.

Jesse shook his head as he examined the cavern further. "This looks to be like the remains of an ancient civilisation," he said slowly, "one that not only worshipped psychic Pokémon, but people born with psyche were considered to be blessed by the legendary Pokémon. People like you, Lydia," he added, looking at her quickly.

"What else does it say?" Lydia asked, curious despite herself. Something about this place called closer to her soul, right down to her heart. She wasn't sure what it was.

"It's hard to make out," Jesse admitted. "Not to mention, I'm not exactly fluent in ancient languages. I'm just reading the pictures," he grumbled. "From what I can tell, there was a psychic who could read people's futures and when she read one of her people's, she saw two descendants of his that would tear their world apart, until one of their own, a daughter, would come forth and end the war between them, stopping the chaos before it began." He frowned slightly. "They've got his name here . . . Hand, I think it says," he said slowly. "Or maybe Hoof? I'm not sure . . . Claw seems closer to it, I think."

"Or maybe," Lydia said quietly, "Talon?"


	30. A Psychic Shrine

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Thirty: A Psychic Shrine

It took a long time for them to manage to find their way out of the ruination of what was left of a once great civilisation, but after a few hours, they managed to climb out of the caverns and back up to the mouth of the cave, where they had first begun. By the time that they found the way, the storm had begun to pass over them and was moving away, leaving slightly spotty clouds that only threatened obscurely. Lydia was quiet pretty much the entire time, while Jennie started talking about what Pokémon they would find once they reached the Whirl Islands.

Her thoughts were focused on their findings back at the ruins, about the prediction that a seer had foretold. She had said that two brothers would tear their world apart and would be saved by a daughter. Hadn't it already started? Hadn't a war begun, waged between two brothers, her father and uncle? Was it such a coincidence that she herself now found herself within it?

Hayden had told her that she couldn't trust Jack. Her mother had said in her dream that Jack had changed from the man she loved. Right now, she wasn't sure what was going to happen, how all of this was going to turn out, but she did know that everything was starting to change all too fast.

Lydia sighed, glancing up at the still looming sky as they walked through the now-muddy road, heading for Olivine City. Her light brown hair bounced off of her shoulders as she walked, her blue eyes calm and thoughtful as she contemplated everything that had happened ever since she had left Rosewaters Isle. For better or worse, she was no longer the young, innocent girl that she'd been then. No, Lydia Talon was growing up into a young woman, forced to by the war that was starting to rage around her. And her part to play in it was still undecided. When the time came, Lydia wasn't sure which side she was going to be on. Everything was still so unclear.

"I'm gonna go try and train with Scyther some more, all right?" Jesse asked suddenly. Lydia glanced up at him as they sat in the clearing that they'd found, stopping for lunch and a short break.

"Sure, all right," she said with a nod. "Just call if you need any help, all right?" Jesse grinned and nodded as he headed away while Jennie was feeding Smoochum, Wartortle, and Pidgeotto. Her own Pokémon were sitting around her. Cyndaquil was on her lap, resting comfortably, with Umbreon lying at her feet, snoozing quietly. Poliwhirl was right next to her, munching on some berries that she'd found, sharing some with Cubone, who she had become fast friends with.

Absently stroking Cyndaquil, Lydia stared off into the forest, still thinking about the ruins that they'd found when she felt a familiar presence approaching them from behind. Jennie was still feeding Smoochum when Umbreon suddenly lifted his head, barking sharply and she jumped, looking around and gave a little shriek of surprise, nearly falling off of the log.

Lydia shook her head at Jennie's antics, not even bothering to turn around as she said, "Hi, Hayden."

"Why is it that you can always sense my coming?" Hayden joked as he strolled into the campsite. "It's not fair. I used to be so good at stealthy."

"Oh, believe me, I think you've still got it down," Jennie grumbled as she stood up, brushing some dirt off of her skirt. Unlike Lydia, who wore pants nearly all the time, Jennie's traditional outfit was a knee-length denim skirt, a white shirt with pink hearts on it, and a pink windbreaker. "What is your big brother doing here?" she directed towards Lydia.

"Don't know, but it's a good question," she replied, smiling up at Hayden. "What _are_ you doing here?"

"What, I can't just stop by to say hello to my little sister?" Hayden asked, grinning. "I've got to have a reason?"

"Usually." Lydia smiled slightly and Cyndaquil, although disappointed to give up her seat, climbed off so she could stand up and greet him properly, hugging him tightly. "How are you?"

"I'm good. Think I'm better than you are right now." Hayden smiled and glanced over his shoulder, as though expecting somebody to appear without warning. "Listen, can we take a short walk? I promise, it won't take very long. I just need to talk to you."

"I suppose." Lydia looked towards Jennie, who gave her a shrug, but nodded warily, still eyeing Hayden suspiciously. Even though they knew Hayden was her brother, Jennie and Jesse didn't exactly trust him. Bending down to her Pokémon, Lydia said, "Hey, you guys stay here with Jennie for a little bit, okay? I'll be back in a little bit."

"Don't worry, guys," Hayden told them as he bent down with Lydia to greet them, giving each of them a rub where each of them liked being rubbed. "I'll take good care of her." He stood up and jerked his head towards Lydia as he headed away from the campsite.

Looking towards her Pokémon and Jennie, Lydia smiled at them. "I'll be right back," she promised as she headed after her brother. Once they were out of hearing distance, she finally broke the silence. "As much as I'm glad to see you, I've got the feeling that this isn't a social visit."

"Sorry," Hayden apologised, hanging his head. "I wish that I had better news." He took a deep breath, looking towards her. "My sources have gotten some new information with Jack and William. Seems that their rivalry has heated back up again and William's threatening to send teams after you in order to keep Jack under control, stop him from assembling the Defenders. And predictable, Jack is remaining ever stubborn, refusing to back down. Says that you can take care of yourself."

"What?" Lydia glared at her brother, folding her arms across her chest. "You don't think that I can."

Hayden managed a small smile. "I think that you are full capable of taking care of yourself, but these are not your everyday trainers trying to learn how to be better or heading for the Leagues. They're not even the lowlifes that you've met before, like Alicia Knightly and Toby Evans."

"Who?"

"That blond trainer that I rescued you from the first time that we met," Hayden explained.

"Oh." Lydia nodded, casting a quick glance at the campsite. "Umbreon's former trainer. That's why Umbreon was so scared of him, it's because he was the one who half-beat him to death."

"Is it really?" Hayden let out a low whistle. "That explains a few things about him." Lydia sighed and nodded as they stood quietly for a few minutes. "Anyway, if these guys come after you, don't bother trying to run. Stand your ground and fight for as long as you can, but call for me. Psychically," he added softly, looking at her pointedly. Then, speaking without moving his mouths, he said, _"No matter where I am, I'll be able to hear your call." _

_"You mean, you can hear my thoughts?" _Lydia said silently, staring wide-eyed at her brother, who smiled and nodded. She grinned at the link that she had to her brother, but another thought occurred to her. "Why shouldn't I run away? What would they do?"

Hayden shook his head. "You don't want to know, trust me. All I can tell you is that I will come running if they do. And if things start getting out of hand, then they will. William would do pretty much anything to strike at Jack and that pretty much goes vice versa. I don't want to see you get hurt," Hayden said quietly, looking away.

"I don't want to see you get hurt either," Lydia told him. Biting her lip, she decided to tell him what they'd found earlier. "Listen, Hayden, earlier during the storm, we found this . . . these ruins in a cave back that way. It looked to be what was left of some ancient civilisation that worshipped psychic Pokémon. Anyway, a seer in the clan read the future of one of her people and said some things that seem to be . . . kind of relevant here. That two of his heirs, two brothers, would tear apart their world, forcing a war on the world that would only be stopped by a daughter, who would bring peace between them."

"Really?" Hayden looked shocked at this. "Where is this cave at?"

"A little ways. Come on, let's get the others and we'll go back there," she said, heading back to the campsite.

--

"Explain to me why this is so important?" Jesse grumbled in a bored tone as Hayden walked through the cavern, staring at the ancient drawings on the cavern walls. "Why did we even have to be involved in this, anyway? I mean, you could have just told him where the cavern was and we could've gone on ahead, easy does it."

"Maybe because I wasn't even aware that this existed, boy, and I should have at least known about it," Hayden threw back at him, still studying the walls. "I don't know how anybody couldn't have known about this."

"Well, I don't know, maybe they just—"

"Enough, both of you," Lydia said in annoyance, running her hands through her hair. "Or I'm just going to lock you both into a room and let you fight it out."

"No problem at this end," Jesse grumbled, giving Hayden an evil eye before sitting down on one of the rocks while Jennie was digging through her bag, searching for snacks. "You got anything, Jen?"

"Here." She tossed him a granola bar before eating one herself, pulling out two more. "Lydia, Hayden, you guys want anything?"

Lydia shook her head as Hayden said, "No, I'm good, thanks." He pulled a camera out of his pocket and began photographing the walls. "This is really . . . I don't understand this. Somebody should have found this before now. It's been here for centuries."

"Or maybe somebody didn't want it to be found," Lydia said slowly. "This cave was pretty well hidden and there were lots of different tunnels that just went to nowhere. The bigger question is, who would want to hide something like this and why?"

"Yeah, why hide a ruin?" Jennie agreed with her mouth full of granola bar. "I mean, sure this stuff has some relevance to what's going on, but how would they even know that this stuff would be happening and when it would? For all anybody knew, that seer could've just been some crazed old woman that would banter about stuff."

"Psychics were considered blessed by the legendary Pokémon by these people," Hayden said quietly as he finished photographing and continuing to look at them. "And this isn't just a ruin. It's a temple, a shrine where many of the psychics would go to learn how to hone and control their abilities." He sighed as he looked around the cavern again. "I'd have to do the research to be sure, but I'd say that this Talon guy . . . Alaric Talon was our ancestor. There's a lot of these drawings that I don't know what they mean, but a friend of mine will. He's an expert in these ancient civilisations. I'm gonna take these pictures to them."

Lydia glanced at him sideways. "This friend a part of that thing that you can't explain?" she queried and Hayden smiled faintly, but nodded. "All right, but you'll tell me what's going on when you find out?"

"Absolutely," Hayden promised. "It just might take awhile, though. He's brilliant at what he does, but sometimes it takes him awhile to get the translation down. Some of these ancient civilisations are . . . well, kind of wonky," he said wryly.

"Well, if we're done sitting here being useless, then could we possibly get back on the road?" Jesse asked in annoyance. "We've already backtracked to do something that was completely pointless and now we've got even less time to get where we're going before nightfall and more ground to cover."

Hayden rolled his eyes, glancing sideways at his sister. "Why do you put up with him?" he wanted to know. Lydia glared at him and he chuckled. "Don't worry, I'll get you right back on track." He closed his eyes and Lydia felt a strange sensation as the caverns disappeared from view and everything turned blurry and strange before her feet found level again and she stumbled onto the ground, looking up to see the campsite where they'd been before they doubled back to the caverns.

Hayden was the only one standing as Jennie and Jesse were lying on the ground as well, though looked more windblown than Lydia. "What did you just do?" Jesse said faintly, struggling to push himself up.

"Remind me to show you how to do that sometime," Hayden said to Lydia with a wink. She smiled and shook her head.

"More psychic stuff that I've yet to learn?" she said with a sigh.

"Something like that," he replied, grinning. "And I'd show you now, but I should get these to the good professor. I'll talk to you guys soon," he added and headed off into the dark woods, looking back at Lydia. "Take care of yourself, little sister."

"You take care!" Lydia yelled after him. He grinned as he vanished from sight and she shook her head, looking towards Umbreon as he whined at her feet at displeasure of the psychic teleportation. "All right, let's get going, guys," she said as they began to travel once again southward, towards Olivine City.


	31. New Capture, Old Enemy

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Thirty-one: New Capture, Old Enemy

It took an entire day and a half to cover the road to Olivine City once they regained the ground that they had lost and by the time that they had reached the beach city, the group was already wiped out. Jennie was just complaining that they really needed to find a new way of transportation as they headed into the Pokémon Centre to get their Pokémon healed by Nurse Joy and took up vacancy in the Centre.

Lydia was sitting in the lobby late at night, flipping through several magazines as she, once again, brooded about everything that had been happening over the past couple weeks.

Jesse walked in, his hair wet from a shower, and sat down next to her as she sat down the magazine to look over at him. "Debating on whether or not to call your uncle?" he asked and winced, shaking his head. "I still can't get used to calling him your dad."

"Join the club," she commented with a smile at her best friend. "I don't know. It's just so weird. I want to understand where he's coming from by not telling me this, I really do, but . . . what kind of a father doesn't tell his daughter that she's his child? Especially after I told him about Hayden. He knew who Hayden was, Jess, and he didn't even say a word. All he told me was that Hayden would go out of his way to protect me, not a word about who he really was."

"Well, maybe Jack just wanted you find out on your own or maybe he thought that you wouldn't believe him." Jesse sighed as he struggled to come up with an explanation that wouldn't make Jack seem to be the bad guy. "That you'd be in more danger if you knew . . ."

"As opposed to the usual danger that we're finding ourselves in more and more lately?" Lydia said dryly. Jesse chuckled as he leaned back against the couch. "No, there's a reason and I'm not sure what it is just yet, but I don't think I want to know. Besides, I call him and things are just going to turn out ugly. I think it's better if I just let things settle down before I call him. I'm just going to get all angry and mean if I call him anyway."

"You, mean? I would definitely like to see that." Lydia gave him a dirty look and he held up his hands. "Look, maybe there a reason for him keeping this from you and maybe there's not, but you're not going to help matters much by not calling him. Every time we're in a city, you give him a ring. Granted, he wasn't home when we were in Goldenrod, but if he found out that we were in Olivine and you didn't call him, he's gonna think that's something's up. If you want to keep things normal for the time being, you're gonna have to do some normal things."

"Like calling the father who likes to pretend that he's my uncle and didn't even bother telling me that his lunatic of a brother was the one who actually killed my mother."

Jesse chuckled. "Not exactly the example that I was going for, but I guess it'll do," he replied with a smirk. "Go call him, Lydia. I talked to Nurse Joy earlier and she said that the gym leader here is out of town for the time being, so I guess we'll be heading out tomorrow."

"Right, so I guess I'll see you about five?" Lydia teased, enjoying watching his face pale considerably at the thought of getting up while it was still dark. She laughed. "You did know that I was joking, right?" Jesse scowled at her as he stood up, leaving her alone in the lobby.

Lydia heaved a sigh as she stood up, heading over to the phones as she picked up and dialled her uncle's phone number, waiting for someone to pick up back in Cherrygrove. On the fourth ring, the answering machine started stating cheerily that nobody was home and if she left a message, he would get back to her as soon as he could.

"Hi, Uncle Jack, it's Lydia," she said, keeping her tone even. "Just calling to let you know we're in Olivine City. Gym leader's out of town or something, so we'll be heading towards the Whirl Islands tomorrow. Either that or Cianwood. I'll call you again when we reach Cianwood. Bye," she added, replacing the phone into the receiver as she stood up, leaving the phone behind her as she headed into the bedroom that she was sharing with Jennie and Jesse. The Centre was overcrowded with trainers who'd missed the ferry for the day or was staying in town until the gym leader got back, so they didn't have the room for them to get separate rooms.

As she returned from the bathroom after getting dressed, Lydia laid down, allowing Umbreon to curl up with her as he licked her cheek affectionately. "I'm okay, big guy," she said, stroking him behind the ears. "Go to sleep."

But even as she told Umbreon to sleep, Lydia felt dreams of the past creep into her mind, not letting any rest to comfort her that night. Images of her dead mother, her kidnapped sister, and the returned brother plagued her.

--

Whether it was a resulted of her dreams or not, Lydia woke early the next morning, the sun barely having lifted from the horizon as she climbed out of bed, waking Umbreon as she stood up and the fox Pokémon trotted after her as she slipped into the bathroom to get dressed, picking up her bag as they headed out of the Pokémon Centre in the early morning.

There was no one in the vicinity as she walked down to the beach with Umbreon, slipping off her shoes to step into the ocean, the waves splashing up to meet her as Umbreon barked joyfully, jumping into the water playfully. Lydia laughed as he splashed her and she returned the water attack, grinning wildly as she pulled off her jacket, tossing it with her bag onto the beach as a particularly large wave doused her.

Coughing up the salt water, Lydia looked up as she heard Umbreon bark in warning as she looked up to see a small blue and yellow Pokémon washed up onto the beach, blinking its yellow eyes up at the psychic as she hurried over to her. "Chinchou," she said as she jumped up and tickled Umbreon with her yellow antennas, electricity sparking from them.

"Wow, a Chinchou," Lydia exclaimed as she jumped up, pushing her wet brown hair out of her face. "Umbreon, quick attack!" she called and Umbreon launched the attack onto Chinchou, making her lose her balance and fall backwards, sending a bubble attack at Umbreon.

The attack made Umbreon stumble backwards, shaking off the attack, but that was enough for Chinchou to recover and launch a thunder wave onto Umbreon, who shrieked at the electricity surging through his body. "Don't give into it, Umbreon!" Lydia called as Umbreon struggled to regain his footwork. "Faint attack!"

That was all it took for Chinchou to fall backwards onto the sand and Lydia threw an empty Pokéball at her, sucking her into the red and white ball and it shuddered onto the ground for a few seconds before finally stopped moving, admitting defeat.

"Yes!" Lydia cheered as she hurried over to pick it up. "We did it, Umbreon!" she said, hugging the fox Pokémon tightly before looking him over to make sure that he was all right. "Are you all right? You didn't get hurt too badly, did you?" Umbreon just licked her face to reassure her and Lydia looked up to see Jesse and Jennie running towards her.

"Hey, we just woke up and found you go, what did you get up so early for?" Jesse asked, before noticing the Pokéball in her hand and her enthralled expression. "Hey! What'd you catch?"

"A Chinchou," Lydia said with a grin. "Sorry, I just woke up and couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided to go out for awhile. Forgot to leave a note. I didn't mean to scare you guys." Jennie waved the explanation aside while Jesse shook his head in exasperation, though his expression showed that he was happy for her new addition. "Well, what do you think? Should we catch the ferry to the Whirl Islands or to Cianwood?"

"Uh . . . do you have to ask the question?" Jennie asked, rolling her eyes as she headed towards the ferry entrance.

"We really need to get rid of her," Jesse grumbled, shaking his head as he followed his sister with Lydia and Umbreon taking up the rear. As it was early, the ticket lines weren't that long and they were able to secure passage to the Whirl Islands and then straight on to Cianwood from there, giving them a day and a half on the Islands for Jennie to be thrilled with.

"The ferry leaves in two hours," the clerk said as she handed Jennie the tickets before looking over at Jesse and Lydia with a smile. "Have a nice trip." Once they left the ticket place, they headed back to the Centre so Lydia could change out of her wet clothes and then headed down to the docks to wait for the ferry to arrive.

Lydia propped her legs up as she stared off into the ocean, her blue eyes focusing the waves as they splashed up to meet the three trainers. She'd let all of her Pokémon out, as had Jennie and Jesse, and most of them were playing in the water nearby. Cyndaquil, being a fire Pokémon, stayed near her trainer, curled up on her lap as she kept a close eye on the others.

"So, what kind of Pokémon are you looking for on the Islands, Jen?" she asked, turning to look at the ice breeder. "Anything in particular?" Jennie frowned slightly, considering the question.

"I don't know," she admitted as she turned to look at Lydia, sitting in Indian style with her elbows on her knees and her head resting on her clasped hands. "Maybe a Seel or a Shellder . . ."

"I thought you wanted to be an ice trainer, sis," Jesse said with a teasing grin. "Shellder are water types, remember?"

"Yes, but they do learn ice-type moves, not to mention, they evolve into Cloyster, which is part ice." Jennie stuck her tongue out at her brother and Lydia smiled slightly, shaking her head at the two as they began to bicker back and forth at one another.

Would she and Hayden have been like this, had they grown up together? she wondered. Tease each other mercilessly, but best friends at the end of the day? Instead of being near strangers, watching out for each other, but having secrets kept from one another, ones that seemed to be determining each other's futures? Would they have found Alison, if they'd grown up together? What would she be like, if they ever found her? Her mother had said that it was her destiny to find Alison, but what would happen once she did? Would things be better or worse, for all of them? There was no way to tell.

"You know, I would absolutely love to catch a Lapras," Jennie said suddenly, breaking off her and Jesse's argument to continue her discussion with Lydia, who looked at her with a smile. "That's probably one of my top choices, if I were ever to catch one."

"Good choice," Lydia said with approval. "Having a Lapras would really help us out right now, though. Wouldn't have to wait for that ferry to get here. We'd already be at the Whirl Islands by now and wouldn't have to wait for the next ferry from there to set sail for Cianwood."

"Well, speaking of ferries, we should probably head over to the docks now," Jesse told the girls, glancing down at his watch. "It's almost nine, which is when the boat leaves."

"All right, let's go," Lydia said, standing up and bringing out the Pokéballs. "Hey, guys, it's time to go!" All the Pokémon were recalled and with Umbreon trailing faithfully next to his trainer, they headed towards the docks. "So, anybody have any idea what the next gym trainer's like?" she asked, turning her attention to their next gym battle.

"I heard that it's fighters," Jesse answered with a grin. "So I'll be using Natu for that battle. Should be a piece of cake."

Jennie rolled her eyes and Lydia smiled. "Yeah, well, any ideas on which one I should use?"

"Well, Poliwrath is part fighting, isn't she? Why not fight fire with fire?" Jesse suggested as they headed towards the docks. "Or fighting with fighting, I guess would be the more appropriate term here. The point is that you should fight him or her on skill."

"Right, because we'll be going up against a fully trainer boxer and I'm a trainer whose never been in a fighting battle in her life," Lydia said sarcastically. "Wanna see how that turns out?"

"No, thank you," Jennie said, rolling her eyes. "He's got a point though. For once, my big brother is actually making some sense." Jesse stuck his tongue out at her, which she retaliated. "Or you could use Cyndaquil. Fire might be enough to strike at them."

"Maybe," Lydia sighed as she ran her fingers through her brown hair, climbing up onto the deck of the ferry. "I'm gonna decide when I see who we're up against. No sense in worrying about it when there's plenty of time left before the gym match."

"Right," Jennie agreed, her voice sounding strange. "No need to worry about that when we've got other things to worry about."

Lydia looked at the breeder curiously. "Jen, what do we possibly have to worry about at the moment?"

Jennie, about to answer, was cut off by another voice that was strikingly familiar. "Well, that could be me, Talon. Long time, no see."

And Lydia turned around, coming face to face with the last person she wanted to see at the moment.

Alicia Knightly.


	32. A Surprise Encounter

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Thirty-two: A Surprise Encounter

Lydia placed her hands on her hips, taking a defensive position as Jesse's hand moved towards his Pokéballs as he stood next to her, ready to back her up in need be. Jennie's eyes narrowed as she recognised the older trainer from the café in Goldenrod, but said nothing as Alicia walked towards them, a smirk playing across her face.

"Gotten this far, have you, Talon?" she inquired. "I have to admit, I was surprised that you managed to make it this far. Didn't think that you had it in you," she added.

"Look, if we're gonna have another battle, you might want to turn around, because the captain there is watching us," Lydia informed her. Alicia froze and her eyes travelled up to where the captain, having noticed the tension between the trainers, was keeping a close watch on them.

Forcing a smile that seemed alien on her face, Alicia turned back to the gang, folding her arms across her chest. "Oh, don't worry, I'm not here to fight," she said scathingly. "In fact, I wasn't even planning on seeing you at all, Talon. Not that I really take any pleasure in seeing your pathetic face. So, tell me, caught any new Pokémon? Not that I care, just curious as to how far down the ladder you are."

"Just so you can go running to your boss and tell him that I'm not worth the effort in why he's after me?" Lydia said calmly. Alicia's eyes narrowed, but she didn't retaliate. "You're wasting your time, Knightly. I've got other problems to deal with and I really don't care about you or your boss's plans at the moment, because there are other things that I've got to deal with, so why don't you just do us both a favour and leave us alone? Because if your boss keeps sending his minions after us, then he's gonna become my enemy."

Alicia's jaw dropped in anger and her face flushed red. "Minion?" she demanded, reaching for her Pokéball when a sailor walked by them, giving all four of them a stern look before moving on. She scowled, but dropped her hand away. "I'll have you know that I am no minion. I am more valuable to the chief than you can even conceive."

She stepped closer, her face inches away from Lydia's. "And I'll have you know that the only reason why you're still alive is because there's still room to determine which side you're going to be on. So if I were you, I would choose the right one very soon. Because if you don't, then things are going to get worse before they turn ugly."

Turning on her heel, she walked away, her chin held high as if she were a queen rather than a common thief working for an obscure boss, her long blonde hair glistening in the sunlight. Lydia sighed as she reached up, tightening her grin on the locket that hung around her neck.

"That girl keeps getting more and more annoying every time that we see her," Jesse commented as they walked over to the deck, sitting down on the chairs that were spread out there while they waited for the rest of the passengers to board before they took off.

"Tell me about it," Jennie grumbled. "I've only met her twice and she is getting on my last nerve."

"Well, don't worry about her," Lydia assured them. "I caught a glimpse of her thoughts and she's getting in some major trouble with her boss concerning us. Considering that we keep ruining every one of her plans, she's in hot water with him. I'm actually kind of feeling sorry for her," she added. "I mean, she's only doing what she's told."

"Yeah, but that's only because you're one of the nicest kids on the planet," Jesse told her with a grin. Jennie rolled her eyes, muttering something that neither one of them caught. "Don't suppose that you heard anything that might point out who her boss is, did you?"

Both Jennie and Lydia stared at him as though he had grown three heads. "What?" he asked.

"You're kidding me, right?" Jennie asked her brother incredulously. "After everything that's happened recently, after everything we've learned, you still haven't figured it out?"

"Figured what out?"

"Alicia's boss is my father," Lydia told him in exasperation. "Or William, rather." Jesse was right, she decided, she still couldn't get used to calling Jack her father or William her uncle.

"What?" Jesse stared at them both incredulously, then shook his head, as though disgusted with himself. "Okay, how did I miss that one? That was completely obvious."

"Because you're an idiot that misses the obvious and wouldn't see the obvious if it danced right in front of him," Jennie said calmly. Jesse scowled at her and Lydia sighed.

"What I'm worried about if what if Alicia was telling us the truth?" she asked quietly. "What if she's not one of those 'lowlife trainers,' as Hayden called them. He said that there were going to be hardcore ones coming after me, to take me in to see William. What if Alicia is actually one of them?" She raised her head to look at her friends, both whom were wearing worried expressions as they considered the dilemma.

"I don't think that's what she meant," Jesse said after a long moment. "It seemed like there was something more going on than what she was saying. Besides, even if she is, we have battled against her before and won. I'm not saying it's gonna be easy, but if we stick together, we should be okay."

Jennie looked at her brother before looking towards Lydia, who shivered slightly, the breeze off of the ocean making the air seem colder than it really was. "Either way, we should keep a close eye on her while we're here," she said quietly as she glanced towards where Alicia was standing on the ferry, her grey eyes watching the three of them very carefully and diligently. "I really hope she doesn't ruin my time on the Islands, though, because I've waited a very long time for this."

"Don't worry, I don't think she's going to be any trouble," Lydia told her as she kept a careful eye on Alicia. "For once, I think she's going to leave us alone. Besides being in trouble with her boss, she looks like she's alone right now. And she's not stupid enough to go three against one."

"You got a point," Jesse agreed. "That girl might be arrogant, manipulative, and deceitful, but she's smart. Heading into battle, even against the good guys, outnumbered isn't smart."

Jennie looked sceptical. "Well, either way," she observed, looking towards Lydia, "I think you should tell Hayden about this."

Lydia nodded, already having made plans to contact her brother later and tell him everything that Alicia had told her. "Don't worry, I will. He already dropped those pictures off at his friend's, so he should be back to stalking me in the shadows pretty soon."

"Very stealthy of him," Jennie observed as the horn sounded and the ferry began to shove off, leaving Olivine City behind for the time behind. "All right, I'm starved, what do you say we go get something to eat?"

--

The stars lit the sky that night as Lydia sat on the top deck with Umbreon laying his head in his trainer's lap while she stroked him behind the ears absently, staring off into the distance while waves rocked the ferry, spraying the trainer with its mists. Jennie and Jesse had gone to bed hours ago, but she had stayed up. There was simply too much going on in her head for her to go to sleep just yet.

Leaning her head back against the chair she was sitting in, Lydia closed her eyes, stretching out with her psyche to find her brother's aura, searching for the place he was at. She had never tried to find somewhere before this way, but with Hayden, it was easy to find him. She smiled as she felt his familiar presence and touched his mind gently, not wanting to wake him if he was asleep. _"Hayden? Hayden, are you awake? It's Lydia." _

It took a minute for her brother to answer her, but when he did, he sounded alarmed and frightened, as though he were expecting the worse of news. _"Lydia? What is it? What's wrong, are you all right?" _

_"Yeah, I'm okay," _she assured him, feeling bad for frightening him so badly. _"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." _

_"Don't worry about it," _Hayden told her, sounding relieved now that he knew that she was all right. _"There's just a whole bunch of stuff with the war starting up again. It's kind of got me a little bit on edge." _He paused. _"So, what's up, anyway?" _

_"Nothing out of the ordinary, unless you count seeing Alicia Knightly as new," _Lydia answered dryly. The blonde trainer hadn't so much as looked at them through dinner and hadn't approached them when they were up on deck earlier, conversing with the other trainers, but that didn't mean she wasn't allowed to worry. The girl had caused enough problems for them already and Lydia had the feeling she wasn't done giving them trouble.

Almost the second that she said Alicia's name, Hayden let out an internal, silent cry of alarm. _"WHAT? When?"_ he demanded.

With a small sigh, Lydia recounted the day's events to her brother, including everything that Alicia had told them regarding her boss, their uncle. Hayden kept quiet the entire way through and didn't say a word when she was finished. Lydia waited a full minute for him to speak before she prompted him. _"Hayden? Are you still there?"_ she asked. _"I don't think that was a boring enough tale to get you to fall asleep." _

Hayden gave a noise that could only be described as laughter as he answered her. _"No, I'm here,"_ he assured her, his amusement fading away as he turned serious. _"Well, this is certainly unexpected. Why would Alicia Knightly be so important to William? Doesn't make any sense,"_ he added slowly. _"From what I know about her, she's nothing more than just another lowlife there, not one of his most important followers." _

_"Well, she might have been lying,"_ Lydia pointed out as she shifted her position, causing Umbreon to whine and she stroked him reassuringly. She wasn't strong enough in her powers to know whether or not somebody was lying to her. Granted, telepathy was the easiest power that she had in her possession, for her anyway, but it was still hard for her to use her powers when she had lived in fear of using them for so long.

_"Yeah, that's possible, but . . . I don't think so. I've never met her, Lydia, I only know her by reputation, but why would she embellish her importance to William? She's probably in deep water with him right now, after failing to capture you several times. Overstating her importance now would cost her what little respect he still hast for her. No, there's something more going on there."_ He paused. _"And speaking of more going on, my friend is still working on those drawings from the cave. He's very enthusiastic about the ruins, though, which means that it's probably something really important." _Lydia giggled slightly, making a few trainers look at her strangely. After all, to them it looked like she was giggling at something nobody else could see. _"I'll try and get back as soon as I can, all right? I don't like leaving you alone for too long." _

_"You might as well take your time, because I don't think anything is going to happen anytime soon." _Lydia groaned as soon as she said that. _"And I just jinxed us by saying that, didn't I?" _

_"Oh, yeah," _Hayden agreed enthusiastically. _"But I'll forgive you. You guys still on your way to the Islands or are you on your way to Cianwood yet?" _

_"We're on our way to the Islands now," _Lydia told him. _"We got on the ferry this morning, so we should be arriving there early tomorrow morning."_ She paused, thinking about the prediction from the cave. _"Did your friend have any info about what the civilisation might be about? Or what the prophecy meant?" _

_"Pretty much the same thing that we managed to decipher while we were at the ruins," _Hayden admitted. _"He hasn't managed to come up with anything new. Don't worry about it, though. You give him enough time and he'll manage to wrangle the whole thing. Hopefully, it's not going to take him as long as it did on that mystery of Shellder he did a couple years ago." _

_"Do I want to know?" _

_"I don't think so." _

Lydia smiled faintly as she gently pushed Umbreon off of her. "Come on, let's go down to the cabin, buddy," she told him aloud. Umbreon whined, but followed her. _"All right, well, I'm going to get some sleep. I'll see you when I see you, okay?" _

_"Yeah, I should probably get some sleep, too. Kind of had an early morning." _Now that Lydia's attention had been brought to it, she noticed he did sound tired. _"Barring any complications, I should see you guys when you get to Cianwood." _

_"And that just jinxed it," _Lydia teased him as she opened the door to her cabin that she was sharing with the Turner siblings, finding them both asleep. Umbreon climbed up onto her bed and curled into a ball.

_"Funny, funny girl," _Hayden said, laughing. _"I'll talk to you soon. Keep safe, little sister._" He paused, embracing her in his mind and drawing her close to him. . _"I love you." _

_"I love you, too, big brother,"_ Lydia said with a smile as she climbed onto her bed, laying her head down on the pillow. She was asleep before she even closed the link between her and her brother.


	33. Inside the Islands

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Thirty-three: Inside the Islands

As she walked with Umbreon, Jesse, and Jennie, Lydia shoved her hands into her pockets, watching the sun rise higher and higher into the sky, bearing down on them as they began to explore the Whirl Islands. "I cannot believe this," Jennie complained as she kicked a rock into the ocean, annoyed. "We've been walking around here for a couple of hours now and I haven't seen a single Pokémon besides Magicarp."

"Well, maybe we're just looking in the wrong place," Jesse offered, trying to cheer his sister up. "Maybe we should look in the caves there." He jerked his hand towards the dark caves that inhabited the islands. Lydia frowned at her best friend, shaking her head.

"I'm marvelling at the wrongness of that idea," Lydia told him. "Remember all that trouble we had in Union Cave? And with Alicia hovering around here somewhere, I'm not exactly too inclined to be heading back into a cave while she's here."

"What, you want her to ruin every fun that you have?" Jesse asked sarcastically. "You remember fun, Lydia? The thing where you occasionally smile a lot?"

Lydia felt the sides of her mouth tug and she shook her head, smiling towards her best friends. "Yeah, going into a dark cave is _your_ idea of fun, Jess, not mine."

"Oh, come on!" Jennie whined as she started heading into the cave without waiting to see if they were going to follow her. Jesse followed his sister enthusiastically while Lydia reluctantly headed after them. "We didn't come all this way just to hang around and watch the sun set."

"That could be fun," Lydia observed as she climbed through the cave with her friends, Umbreon right at her feet as the cave darkened around them while they headed down the tunnel. "Jess, I don't suppose you remembered to get some batteries for your flashlight while we were in Olivine, did you?"

"Of course I did, what do you take me for?" If she could see him, then she was sure that he would be scowling at her. "Jen, hold up for a second."

"Hold up? I can't see anything, what are we waiting for?" Jennie's voice drifted towards them from ahead and sounded annoyed and irritated. "Come on, I want to find some ice Pokémon."

"How are you planning on doing that if we can't even see them?" Lydia inquired as light suddenly exploded in her eyes and she shrieked, stumbling away from it. "Jesse, you don't need to blind me!"

The light moved away from her and she uncovered her eyes, only to be met with spots on her eyes, along with a rueful Jesse. "Sorry," he apologised as she walked back towards them. He flashed the flashlight ahead of them, further through the cave, and the trio began climbing further down to find whatever they were going to come across.

"Hey, do you guys hear water?" Lydia asked suddenly, her sharp ears coming into contact with the sound of rushing water.

"No," Jennie answered while Jesse stopped, listening.

"Yeah, I hear it," he told her. "Jennie, listen."

Jennie paused for a minute, listening carefully. "Oh," she said, smiling innocently. "Okay, now I hear it." Lydia shook her head as she and Umbreon took the lead, heading through the tunnel until they came across an entire lake underneath the island. "Whoa, look at that!" Jennie squealed as she pointed ahead of them.

"It's a bunch of baby Seel," Lydia observed as she shoved her hands into her pockets. Jennie nodded, her eyes gleaming as she pulled out a Pokéball to release one of her Pokémon. "Hold on, Jen. We're gonna find some more, don't capture one of those."

"Why?" Jennie demanded, rounding on her and looking highly upset. "That's what we came here for, remember?"

"I know, but those are just babies," Lydia pointed out, nodding to them. "See, there's their mother climbing up now. They still have plenty of growing up to do before they'll be ready to do any battling or anything. Come on, we're bound to find some more further in."

Jennie made a face. "Oh, all right," she grumbled. "But you owe me one." She replaced the Pokéball as she headed further down the steps and began walking along the waterfront, her green eyes searching everywhere for any Pokémon wandering around. "Hey, guys, look there!" she exclaimed, sounding alarmed this time.

Lydia looked up ahead and ran when she saw the Cloyster leaning on its side rather painfully. Jennie beat her to the Pokémon and squatted down on her knees to see how badly it was hurt. "It's okay, you're okay," she crooned gently as she dug into her bag for some supplies. "Don't worry, we're going to take care of you."

As she worked her newly acquired breeder skills on Cloyster, Lydia moved closer to take a look at the wounds. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the injured inflicted on it. They were recent, she immediately noticed, and Cloyster wasn't portraying the usual signs that she'd witnessed when dealing with an abused Pokémon. After being with Umbreon and Cyndaquil for this long, plus the behaviour of Jesse's Scyther, she didn't think that Cloyster had been abused by his trainer. No, he had been hurt by something within the caves.

"Something attacked him," Lydia said slowly as she slowly stood up, her eyes searching the cavern. "And if I had to take a guess, then I would say that there's something happening here than just a mere attack. You guys stay here, I'm gonna go see if I can find out what's going on."

"No way are you going alone, not if somebody's attacking Pokémon around here," Jesse interjected. "No way."

"Jess, somebody has to stay here and help Jennie with Cloyster," Lydia argued. "Besides, if I run into trouble, I can get a message to you without alerting anybody, remember?"

Jesse paused, his face growing paler as he remembered Lydia's abnormal abilities. "Can you do that?"

Lydia paused, giving him an innocent smile. "I am pretty sure that I will be able to do that," she admitted. Jesse gave her a scornful look and she made a face. "Okay, I've only ever tried it with Hayden, but I'm sure that it will work if I concentrate enough."

"You're sure," Jesse repeated disbelieving.

"Okay, well, pretty sure, anyway," Lydia sighed. "Look, Jess, I can take care of myself. I am big girl now."

"Uh-huh." Jesse rolled his eyes as she walked away with Umbreon to try and find whatever had attacked Cloyster, casting out her psyche to find them. But she had the feeling that whoever or whatever they were, they weren't going to be hard to find.

And she wasn't wrong.

As she found a group of Kingler under attack by a certain blonde trainer, she reached down and touched a growling Umbreon. "Easy, boy," she murmured, trying to calm him as she took a step towards Alicia, who stiffened the moment that she neared her. "Why is it that whenever you're around, trouble is sure to follow?"

"Well, I wouldn't have to have trouble with you if you would just stop getting in my way," Alicia taunted as she glared at Lydia. "Where'd your little friends go, anyway?"

"Taking care of an injured Cloyster," Lydia said flatly. "Your work, I presume?" Alicia's smirk was enough to confirm what she had originally suspected from the beginning. "Gosh, what did your parents do to you as a child to make you grow up to be such a cold, heartless trainer?"

Alicia's teeth barred at the mention of her parents. "Flareon, flame thrower!" she ordered and the fire Pokémon obeyed. Lydia was quick to retaliate as she threw Chinchou's Pokéball.

"Water gun!" she called and the water/electric Pokémon fired a jet of water towards the fire, making an explosion through the chamber. Lydia shook her head as water came down, soaking both girls. "Wow, did I actually touch a nerve there, Knightly?"

"Shut up about my parents," the blonde trainer growled.

Lydia stared at her and for the first time, she actually saw a glimmer of humanity spark through Alicia. A shiver travelled through her and she took a step towards her carefully. "What happened to them, Alicia?" she asked slowly. "What happened to your mom and dad?"

"Nothing happened to them and I am really failing to see how my parents are any of your business!" Alicia snarled at her. "I'm not the one whose mother hated her so much that she died just to get away from her!"

For a second, Lydia actually considered telling her the truth about what had happened to her mother, but decided against it. Alicia wasn't her friend; she was the enemy. And telling her that kind of information would only put her at a disadvantage somewhere down the line.

"You can believe what you want," Lydia told her softly. "And forgive me if I actually thought that there might be some human buried deep inside of you. Guess I was wrong. But I'm not going to let you hurt these Pokémon. They deserve a better trainer than the likes of you."

Unknown to Alicia, Umbreon had darted away from Lydia's side and was helping the Kingler get away. Once they were safely away from Alicia, he had returned to her side, growling towards the blonde trainer. Alicia's eyes narrowed as she realised what had happened.

"You're going to pay for that one, Talon," she snarled towards the brunette trainer. "You're going down."

"Might be," Lydia admitted, tossing her hair behind her back. "You might actually beat me one day, but uh . . . here's the thing. If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me." Alicia's blue eyes went wide at that statement just as a boy around Alicia's age appeared.

"Agent Knightly?" he asked. Lydia rolled her eyes, amused by the fact that they called each other agents, as though they were in some kind of spy organisation or something. Alicia growled at him when he called her that, looking like she wanted to strangle him.

"Did nobody explain to the new agents what secret identities means?" she wondered aloud. Lydia shook her head as the boy gulped and back away, afraid of Alicia. "What is it?"

"There was a little problem with the weapon that you had us use," he stammered. "It caused some kind of explosion and then well . . ."

"What happened to the Seel I sent you to capture?" Alicia hissed at him and Lydia's blood froze as she remembered the Seel that they'd found when they first arrived in the cave and the blood drained from her face, staring towards Alicia in horror.

The boy gulped and looked down. Fear rose through Lydia and she recalled Chinchou quickly, gesturing towards Umbreon, who raced towards his trainer as they ran through the caves quickly. She prayed against all hope that they would be able to get there in time, that the boy's reaction wasn't what she thought it was.

But when she got to the place where the Seel had been, in a more direct route than where Jennie and Jesse still were, she found the place nearly demolished, with the exit blocked. Umbreon gave a howl of anguish when he saw the baby Seel, their mother, and a few other Pokémon lying bloodied and bruised and dead from the remains of a destructive machine that lay destroyed a few feet away.

Lydia gave a cry of horror as she dropped to her knees, shaking her head in protest. How could someone have done this? she thought as Umbreon climbed into her lap, burying his head into her shoulder and she wrapped her arms around him, each of them trying to comfort the other one when she heard a small whimper from the wreckage. Raising her head, she looked around towards the rubble.

Lydia scrambled to her feet as she heard the noise, searching for the source of it, trying to get a good hearing while Umbreon sniffed the air, having heard the noise as well. He gave a bark as he buried his nose through a pile of debris and she hurried towards where he had pointed to.

Not wanting to hurt any living creature that might be underneath it, Lydia pressed her fingers to her temples, plunging into the depths of her power as her blue eyes blazed, gently lifting the debris away from the injured Pokémon and away from harm.

She gasped in surprise as she found a weak and injured baby Seel underneath the wreckage. Her brown eyes frantically stared around her as Lydia moved closer to the Seel, slowly moving her hands towards her. "It's all right, I'm not gonna hurt you," she assured the Pokémon. Umbreon began talking to the baby Seel in Pokémon language, telling her that it was all right.

When the Seel seemed to be reassured, Lydia gently lifted the Seel in her arms, cradling her gently as she cast out her psyche, trying to search for any more survivors. Only when she was sure that there were no more living Pokémon, she carried Seel away in her arms, heading to find Jesse and Jennie and get out of here.


	34. Saving Two Pokemon

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Thirty-four: Saving Two Pokémon

Until she'd found them and told them what happened, Lydia had never heard Jesse swear before. He called Alicia a number of names that made Lydia reproach him as Jennie was trying, unsuccessfully, to get Seel to let her heal her. Seel was shrinking away from Jennie, the apparent fear in her eyes as Lydia walked over to her, drawing the baby into her lap and petting her gently.

"It's okay, Seel, nobody here is going to hurt you," she assured her, touching Seel's mind with her psyche and projecting warm feelings into her. At once, Lydia felt her calm slightly, but when Jennie tried to help her again, Seel shrank away.

"I'm sorry, Lydia, but I think you're going to have to do it," Jennie told her, handing over the supplies. "Seel seems to prefer your touch." Her voice was reproachful as she sat back down next to Cloyster.

"Just tell me what to do," Lydia said with a sigh as she took the potion and Jennie began instructing her on how to heal her properly. Lydia was gentle and careful, mindful of the injuries as she tried her best to heal them. It took awhile, but Seel was finally healed enough for her to pick her up. "I think we need to get her to a Pokémon Centre."

"Nearest one would be on Cianwood," Jesse said as he stood up, starting to head back the way that they had come through, back towards where the massacre was.

"Wait, Jess!" Lydia said sharply and he looked back at her. "We can't get back that way. You really don't want to see that and besides, it's caved in. We're gonna have to find another way out of here." She sighed, shaking her head. "I'm really starting to think that caves and us equal bad. Something always seems to happen whenever we're in caves."

"All right, then, let's find another way out of here," Jesse said with a sigh, launching a Pokéball into the air. "Natu, can you find a way out of here?" he asked as the bird/psychic Pokémon flew into air. She gave a hoot of assurance as her eyes glowed and then she flew off into a different direction, leading them through the island.

"Easy, Seel," Lydia whispered as she held the Pokémon in her arms, cradling her gentle. The baby was whimpering slightly as she buried her head into Lydia's jacket. "You're okay, you're going to be okay."

"I don't think so, Talon," Alicia spoke up as she appeared from behind them, startling all three trainers, who turned. She was grinning maliciously as she stepped towards them, Flareon right next to her as she placed a hand on her hip. "Now, hand over the baby Seel and nobody gets hurt."

Lydia glared at her. "Right and on a scale of one to ten, how stupid exactly do you think I am?"

"Well, you did happen to fall right into my trap," Alicia said mockingly as she folded her arms across her chest. "That Pokémon is going to die, Talon, and there isn't anything you can do about it. I've got half a dozen of our members patrolling the islands, ready for my call if I need them. And all of them would be willing to tear you down. Are you going to risk a Pokémon's life on mere stubbornness? Because if that's true . . . you're more like me than I thought."

Lydia glared at her. "I'm nothing like you," she shot back. "I would never threaten an innocent Pokémon's life or slaughter their family, for that matter. You're not getting this Pokémon if I have anything to say about it." She tightened her grip on Seel. "Come and try to get her."

Alicia's eyes glittered dangerously and her smile turned dangerous. "Very well, then," she said lightly. "Have it your way. Flareon, take them down. But make sure that the Seel is unharmed. She's not going to be any use to us if she gets damaged any further." She placed her hand to her ear, revealing a small communication device in her ear. "All units, report to me. We need a little bit of damage control here."

"Damage control?" Lydia repeated, her eyes narrowed as Jesse and Jennie moved to back her up. If she had been less preoccupied, she would have sensed a familiar presence approaching nearby.

As it was, she was too focused on trying to save Seel to notice her brother's approach and looked down at Umbreon. "Ready for this, buddy?" she asked and he barked in affirmation as he moved forward to face Flareon. "Okay, quick attack!"

"Dodge it and use flame thrower!" Alicia shrieked, her eyes blazing as some more of her "friends" raced into the cave they were in, their Pokémon growling towards the three trainers forced into a tight circle. "Now, where we were? I believe you were about to hand over the Seel."

Lydia glared at her, glancing towards her friends. "Guys, I hate to say it, but we're a little bit outnumbered here."

"You think so?" Jennie raised her eyebrows as she surveyed the trainers surrounding them. "They're just twenty or so of them and three of us."

Jesse laughed anxiously. "Yeah, if we can take on about seven at one time, we're gonna have no problem," he said, forcing a smile. "So, how about it? I'll take the seven on the left there, Jennie, the ones on the right, and Lydia, you get the ones in the middle."

"You won't have time for that, Turner," Alicia said calmly. "Not unless you all can avoid about thirty flame throwers coming your way. Because that's what's about to happen."

"Hyper beam!"

Lydia glanced up as a bright light flashed through the cave, causing most of Alicia's colleagues to scream and flee in the opposite direction. "Hearts of lions, they've got," she commented before looking towards their rescuer and she froze in shock.

Because there was a Gyarados standing right behind them, his frightening face leering at them as she backed up, straight into Jesse. Jennie screamed when she saw it, ducking behind her brother and gripping his jacket tightly. Jesse moved in front of his sister and Lydia as a figure leaped off of Gyarados and landed on the ground.

"Hello, Alicia," Hayden said flatly, folding his arms across his chest. "Long time, no see."

"Old friend of yours?" Lydia inquired and her brother flashed her a smirk before looking at Alicia, who had her teeth barred at Hayden. Lydia glanced between the two of them, wondering what kind of history they'd had. Certainly, they'd met each other before; that much was obvious.

"And Hayden Talon shows up to rescue his baby sister," Alicia countered. "Who ever would have guessed?"

"I'd suggest that you leave now, before I have Gyarados work his wrath on you," Hayden said politely, but his eyes presented none of the civility. His blue eyes were trained on Alicia with a ferocity that Lydia had never seen in her brother.

Alicia scowled, but she seemed to have realised that there were only one or two of her associates left with her; the others had deserted them at the sight of Gyarados. "This isn't over yet," she warned them as she walked away from the trio, jerking her head towards her colleagues. "Come along, we'll have more fun with them another day. And believe me, Talon," she said, looking towards Lydia dangerously, "things are about to get very interesting."

No one spoke as they were left alone in the cave until Hayden recalled his Gyarados, placing the Pokéball in the pocket. "Why is it," he commented, "that whenever I leave you alone, you run into trouble?"

Lydia sighed as she looked down at Seel. "I don't know, but we need to get this Seel to a Pokémon Centre, she's pretty weak," she explained as Hayden crossed over to her, peering towards Seel. "Alicia's friends massacred her entire family and some other Pokémon back there," she explained, jerking her head towards where the slaughter had occurred.

Hayden muttered something under his breath that Lydia didn't catch, but it didn't sound too flattering. He jerked his head towards them. "Come on, let's go," he ordered. "There's a boat waiting just outside."

"The next boat to Cianwood doesn't arrive for another couple of hours!" Jennie protested as they hurried through the caves. Cloyster was trailing after them, sticking close to Jennie.

"The ferry boats, yeah," Hayden agreed as he led them out into the sunlight. "But we're not going on a ferry." He headed towards a small, private boat that held only an elderly sailor on it, waiting for them. "Rex! Let's pack everything up! We need to get to Cianwood straight away!" Hayden yelled towards him.

"Very good, Mr. Talon!" the sailor called back as he began getting everything ready while they climbed on board. The sailor glanced at the entourage that had gotten onto the boat. "And who might these youngsters be?"

"Rex Palmer," Hayden said as he placed his hands on Lydia's shoulders, "may I present to you my sister Lydia Talon." Rex's eyes widened in surprise and he shook her hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Talon," he said enthusiastically. "Forgive me for not recognising you straightaway. You are the image of your mother Rosemary."

"And these are her friends, Jesse and Jennie Turner," Hayden added as he moved away from them, helping Rex to launch the boat. "And we're kind of on short notice. We've got an injured Pokémon here, there might be more still inside. I'm gonna make a call."

"William Talon's work?"

"Not this time, I don't think. It was Alicia Knightly, I believe," Hayden answered as he placed a cell phone to his ear, walking away from them and talking so quietly that Lydia couldn't even hear him.

--

Lydia paced back and forth as they waited in the lobby of the Pokémon Centre, her light brown hair swinging back and forth as she walked, waiting anxiously for Nurse Joy to return with Seel.

"Look, Lydia, I know that you're worried, but you're going to make a hole in the floor if you keep pacing like that," Jesse said, his tone light and teasing. She shot him a dirty look. "They're not going to come out any faster if you keep pacing. Might as well sit down."

With a sigh, Lydia sat down at the vacant seat, running her hand through her hair as she glanced towards the emergency ward. "What is taking so long?" she said anxiously.

"I wouldn't worry about it taking so long," Hayden said reassuringly. She stared at him in incredulity. "Well . . . if it wasn't taking so long, then I would probably worry more. That would mean that there wasn't a whole lot that they could do."

Lydia sighed, knowing he had a point as she leaned back against the plush chair. "Did any of your friends find anything back there?"

"They checked," Hayden confirmed. "And they didn't find any survivors. They're taking some of the stuff that killed them back to their lab, to find out what it was built for."

"Destroy Pokémon clans and watch them suffer and die?" Jennie said scathingly, but Lydia shook her head in denial.

"I don't think so, Jen," she said slowly. "Before I found Seel, one of Alicia's associates said that something went wrong with the machine, that it didn't do what it was supposed to do."

"Then what was it supposed to do?"

Lydia shook her head, not understanding any of this. "I don't know," she whispered as Nurse Joy came out of the emergency ward. She jumped to her feet and hurried over to her, her friends right behind her.

"Seel is going to be just fine," the nurse said reassuringly. "It's a good thing that you got her here when you did. All she needs is a good night's sleep." Lydia let out a slow breath as Nurse Joy turned to Jennie. "And I've taken a look a Cloyster. You did a good job healing him; there wasn't much more that I could have done. He'll be fine by morning."

"Thank goodness," Lydia said in relief as she leaned against Jesse, who hugged her and his sister as Hayden placed an arm around, holding her tightly. "Okay, guys, oxygen becoming an issue," she commented as Nurse Joy walked away to help another trainer with his Oddish.

Hayden chuckled as he stood up. "Well, I need to go check in with Rex, but I'll be around," he promised. Lydia nodded, hugging him tightly before he turned and left the Centre.

As she watched him go, Lydia headed towards the recovery, where Seel was lying asleep. Sitting down next to him, she looked towards the darkening sky, feeling furious at Alicia. She had disliked people before, had even hated a few of them, but she had never actually loathed anyone until today. Alicia Knightly had as good as killed those Pokémon and would've killed Seel today had it not been for Hayden.

"I'm gonna stop you, Alicia Knightly," she whispered, the promise made in her heart. "Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day, I'm going to take you down."


	35. Stopping the Fight

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Thirty-five: Stopping the Fight

Lydia was sitting on a rock by the ocean, watching the waves come and crash up onto the beach as the sun was lowering itself onto the horizon. Umbreon was on the rock next to her as his red eyes watched the Pokéball that she held in her hand, cradling it carefully. With a small sigh, Lydia looked down at the Pokéball that now held Seel.

After she had gotten out of surgery, Seel stuck so close to Lydia that she finally gave her the option of going with her or not and Seel had happily agreed to go with. As happy as she was to have Seel on her team, Lydia couldn't help but feel guilty about the events that had occurred. If she had just done something different, then maybe . . . maybe those Pokémon would still be alive. Maybe Seel would be happy and safe with her family . . . with her family, where she belonged . . .

"Is it my fault, Umbreon?" she asked softly, glancing down at her Pokémon, the one who had started her journey and had given her the courage to leave her home behind. "Am I the reason why all this bad stuff keeps happening?"

"Bree! Umbreon! Um!" Umbreon was shaking his head wildly as he spoke, telling her what she probably needed to hear. She wasn't to blame for all of these things; if it weren't for her, then maybe of her Pokémon wouldn't even be alive to tell of her kindness and courage. Umbreon would have died from his injuries back on Rosewaters Isle. Cyndaquil would still be waiting for his former trainer to come back and would most likely have succumbed to some sickness or something. And now Seel . . . who most certainly would have died from those injuries if she hadn't rescued her from that wreckage that Alicia had caused. She was the reason that half of the team she'd brought together were still alive and well cared for. If anything, it was her uncle who was to blame for these things that kept happening.

Lydia sighed and nodded as she stroked Umbreon's ears carefully as he laid his head onto her lap. "Maybe you're right," she admitted, "but it's gonna stop. If I have to take them down myself, then that's what I'm going to do. I won't sit around and watch them hurt innocent Pokémon."

"By yourself?"

Glancing up, Lydia saw Jesse and Jennie walking towards her. Jennie, too, had a new addition to her team. Cloyster had chosen to battle with her after his wounds had recovered and she'd captured him, earning her second ice Pokémon.

Jesse climbed onto the rock next to Lydia and Jennie sat down by the edge of the water, releasing her Pokémon so that they could go play in the water. "You're really going to try and take down your uncle?"

"I'm going to do what I have to do," Lydia answered quietly. "I am so sick of them trailing me all of the time and Alicia trying to hurt me and my friends just to impress her boss. I want this over with."

"And I can understand that, I do," Jennie commented, glancing up at her. "Believe me, I'm getting really tired of them coming after us all of the time, too, but . . . can it wait until after we go to the Ice Path?"

Both Lydia and Jesse laughed, breaking the tension that had settled on Lydia's shoulders ever since she had found Seel. Jennie joined into the laughter, her green eyes twinkling as their laughter carried over the beach. Jesse was the first one to recover and he looked at Lydia.

"She's kind of got a point, though. I mean, we have travelled all of this way to go to the gym here and I don't think that we should put all of our efforts on hold. We both want to get into the tournament. And you don't want to miss that, do you? I mean, your dad put all of his efforts into stopping William and look what happened to him."

Lydia smiled ruefully, knowing what he was talking about. His wife murdered by his brother, his brother desperately trying to get revenge against him for trying to stop him, his son sent far away from him, his two daughters taken away from him and one was still missing to this day . . .

"No, I don't want to miss out on the tournament," she agreed. "But what if something bad happens while we're trying to stop them?"

"You can't right all the wrongs in the world by yourself, Lydia," Jesse pointed out. "And if you put all of your energies into trying to stop them, then eventually, I think you're just going to become a hardened trainer who will stop at nothing to achieve her goals . . . like Alicia."

Lydia froze as he said that and turned towards her best friends. "You think so?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," Jesse said with a small chuckle. Lydia smiled at him before looking towards the horizon.

"So I guess then we're heading towards the gym tomorrow, sound good?" she asked.

"Sounds like a plan," Jesse said cheerfully. "I was talking to some trainers earlier who took a pretty good beating from the leader here. And when I say beating, I mean literally. It's fighting types here. And the leader is no pushover. This is going to be a tough one."

"I'm not worried," Lydia said with a smile. "The tough ones . . . those are usually the beneficial battles, the ones where we have to fight our hardest to win. And I love those battles."

Jennie sighed. "I don't get that much out of battling. Personally, I like the spectator part of it. So, any idea what Pokémon you're going to be using? I think I heard it's two on two."

Lydia shrugged. "Well, I think I'm going to go with Poliwhirl, since she's part fighting. And Umbreon, if you're up for it," she added, looking at Umbreon. She saw the disbelieving looks that she was receiving from Umbreon, Jesse, and Jennie respectively. "What?" she asked. They were all looking at her as though she had lost her mind.

"Uh . . . you are fully aware that dark Pokémon are weak against fighting types?" Jesse asked her.

She looked at him pointedly. "Natu," she said calmly, "Azalea gym, psychics weak against bugs . . . am I ringing any bells here?" she asked and he smiled ruefully.

"Okay, so I'm not the most conventional trainer either," he said, accepting the jest gracefully. "But that doesn't mean that you have to follow my lead. I was lucky then. Plus, I'd been training for a lot longer than you have, even now."

Lydia smiled and shrugged. "We'll see."

Jennie shook her head. "As much as I would like this to continue, if we're going to go to the gym early tomorrow, I think we should head back to the Centre. Besides, curfew is in a few hours and I'd like to get some food before the cafeteria closes."

It was only when Jennie mentioned food that Lydia realised how hungry she actually was. They hadn't had a decent meal since the ferry and that was the day before yesterday. She got up and slipped Seel's Pokéball into her pocket before all four of them headed towards the Pokémon Centre, all of them talking and jousting about the battles tomorrow.

--

Lydia brushed out her hair as she sat in the room she'd rented at the Pokémon Centre with Jennie and Jesse, both of whom were fast asleep on their beds. Umbreon was asleep as well, curled into a ball at the end of her bed. But not Lydia; no, she couldn't sleep. Every inch of her was wide awake as she returned her brush to her bag before standing up and heading into the lobby. No one was there except for Nurse Joy, currently checking on the status of some of the Pokémon.

Walking past her onto the patio, Lydia sighed as she sat down at one of the chairs, breathing in the cool autumn air. Winter was on the way, she noted as she leaned back, staring up at the stars, tracing them with her finger, a familiar feeling surging through her. Didn't Hayden say that their mother used to take them out to look at the stars once?

Almost at once, memory swept through her mind. She was a tiny baby, sitting on her mother's lap with her big brother nearby, looking up at the stars as her mother traced them with her tiny hands.

_"See if you can find them," her mother whispered as she sat with her two remaining children. "See the Pokémon up there in the stars? You can trace them there. Put those two together and then line them up with the ones to the left of them. What do you see?" _

_Lydia giggled at the game, seeing the pictures that were traced in the sky, images of Pokémon appearing in the sky as Hayden laughed happily. "It's an Eevee, Mum!" he said, his blue eyes lit with laughter and joy. "I can see an Eevee there! Look!" _

_"That's my boy," their mother said proudly, ruffling his hair affectionately. "Do you see them, Lydia? Can you see them, my girl?" Lydia nodded as she traced them with her finger, swirling all around, finding Pokémon everywhere she could see. _

_It was a time of happiness, it was a time of laughter, and it was a time of love. But even though she was less than a year old, Lydia knew that it wasn't going to last. _

"Lydia?"

Startled out of her thoughts, Lydia glanced up to see Hayden climbing over the balcony, jumping down and slipping on the recently mopped floor. "Stealthy," she said in amusement as he tried to regain his composure. She stood up to greet her brother, hugging him. "What are you doing here?"

Hayden put on a mock hurt expression. "What, are you not glad to see me?" he inquired.

Rolling her eyes, Lydia shook her head in exasperation. "Let me rephrase that," she said with a sigh. "What are you doing here this late? Shouldn't you be asleep by now?"

"Could say the same thing about you," Hayden pointed out as they sat down at one of the tables. She gave him a pointed look and he shrugged. "I just wanted to check on you, make sure that you were all right. I had a bad feeling." He paused, looking at her carefully. "_Are_ you all right?"

Lydia sighed, turning to look at her brother directly in their identical blue eyes. "In the cave on the Whirl Islands," she said quietly, "you and Alicia seemed to know one another." Hayden looked down at her comment, refusing to meet her gaze. "How do you meet her? Where do you know her from?"

"Mostly? Just crossed paths with her before, back in Kanto," Hayden replied with a sigh. "That was before I found out who my parents were and about you and Alison and . . . this whole thing with Jack and William. Back then, she was just some arrogant, conceited trainer that didn't know when to back off. I don't honestly know a whole lot about her, other than the fact that she was recruited very young by William."

"How young?"

Hayden looked at her. "So young that she doesn't even remember who her parents are," he said quietly. Lydia's blood went cold; William had abducted a little girl from her home to serve in his army or whatever he wanted to call it? "So she was raised without any recollection of her family and the only life she knows is the one he taught her. And I don't need to point out that he did a much better job with her than he did with you." He paused. "I'm glad that he didn't succeed with you."

"She's done terrible things before, even before the Seel incident," Lydia said quietly. "Things that I can't forgive her for, but . . . when you think about it . . . it's not really her fault. She knows no other life."

"It still doesn't make it right," Hayden replied as he leaned back in his chair. "William's twisted her so badly that she has a very warped version of what's right and wrong. And she won't rest until she's accomplished William's needs for the war to start up again." He looked at her. "If it does . . . Lydia, I want you to stay away."

"No, Hayden."

"Lydia, this is serious—"

"Yeah, I know that." Lydia stood up to face her brother. "I know this is serious and that it could very well mean life or death for both of us and my friends. But I won't just stand by when innocent people and Pokémon are going to get hurt. It's because of this that we weren't raised together and that we have no mother. It's because of this that our sister is somewhere out there, unfound and alone. And I'm not just going to let it happen again. If this war starts up again, then I am fighting. Not on Jack's side, not on William's, but to put a stop to it once and for all. This is my fight. It's our family's fight, Hayden. And we have to end it, before it destroys us all."

Hayden sighed, looking away. When he finally looked up, he was wearing a half-pained, half-exasperated expression. "If you get killed," he finally said, "I'm telling."

The statement was so unlike Hayden that it sent both siblings into laughter and Lydia finally said, "That goes for you too, big brother."

"We're gonna end this," Hayden agreed as he looked at her. "And we're gonna find Alison."

"Or she's gonna find us," Lydia said softly.


	36. The Fighting Gym

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Thirty-six: The Fighting Gym

Cianwood Island was bright and cheery the next morning when Lydia woke, her heart pounding with excitement and nervousness, the way it only did right before a big gym battle. Climbing out of bed, careful not to wake Umbreon, who was fast asleep, Lydia slipped into the bathroom and got dressed quickly.

By the time that she was stepping out of the bathroom, Jennie was already awake and she grinned at Lydia before giving her a nod towards Jesse's bunk. Unsurprisingly, he was still fast asleep, his head buried into his pillow to block out the coming day.

"Didn't he say something about getting up early for gym battles?" Jennie whispered mischievously, her green eyes twinkling impishly.

"Well, we have had a rough couple of days," Lydia said reasonably as she brushed out her light brown hair before slipping her brush into her bag. "Go get ready, I'm gonna try and get him up."

"You'll have as much luck finding a Mew," Jennie said dryly. "That big brother of mine would sleep through World War III, with bombs going off all around him if he put his mind to it." She shook her head as she headed off to the bathroom, closing the door securely behind her as Lydia climbed up the ladder to the top bunk, where Jesse was still sleeping soundly.

"Jess," she whispered right into his ear. He groaned and pulled his head under his pillow. "Jesse, it's time to go to school!" she said in a singsong voice.

This caused Jesse to pull the pillow tighter around his head, effectively blocking out anyone trying to talk to him. Lydia shook her head, plunging into her psyche, and pulling the pillow away from him more efficiently than just grabbing it would have done. Jesse launched himself up and tried to grab his pillow, but he hit his head on the ceiling instead, sending him back down onto the bed.

"Ow . . ." Jesse groaned as he rubbed his forehead, glaring up at Lydia. "What did you wake me for? It's still early."

"Gym battle," she reminded him and Jesse groaned. "Come on, Jess, don't you want to take down some fighters or do you want to let me do all of the work?"

"I want . . ." he complained as he reluctantly climbed out of bed, climbing down the ladder after Lydia jumped down, "to go back to sleep."

"Sorry, you don't get that option right now," Lydia said cheerfully. "Besides, we still need to go and check to make sure the rest of our Pokémon are okay from Nurse Joy." She knocked on the bathroom door. "Hey, Jen, I got him up!"

"You're kidding!" Jennie opened the door to confirm Lydia's declaration as fact and practically gawked at her brother when she saw him awake and out of bed and moving to grab his clothes. "Wow, the world must really be coming to an end."

Jesse tried and failed to look annoyed. "You two are hilarious, can we please just go?" he requested. Lydia grinned as she gently woke Umbreon, grabbing her bag as they headed out the door to get breakfast in the cafeteria, two of them discussing battle tactics for the upcoming gym battles.

Lydia dug into her cereal as she sat down with Umbreon, getting him a bowl of Pokémon food, as Jesse and Jennie joined them. Too nervous to talk, Lydia ate her breakfast quickly before she headed towards the front desk to check on how her other Pokémon were doing. The nurse was finishing up on a redheaded trainer's Arcanine when she approached.

"He should be feeling better in no time," she assured the redhead before shooing her off to the recovery. She turned to Lydia, the friendly smile on her face. "Lydia Talon, right? I have all of your Pokémon right here. They were in near-perfect health, just needed a good rest is all." She handed Lydia her Pokéballs.

"Thanks, Nurse Joy," Lydia said with a smile. "I appreciate it." Jesse walked up behind her and collected his Pokéballs. "So, you ready for a gym battle, Jess?"

"As ready as I'm ever going to be," Jesse said, looking slightly green. "I don't remember being this nervous during some of the other gym battles."

"Well, don't be, you've got Natu, remember?" Lydia said reassuringly as they walked out of the Centre with Jennie. "And psychics are super on fighting types, so you should have no problem. Breathe, Jess," she said in alarm, when he started to look nauseous. "Take a deep breath."

"And then you let it out," Jennie put in when he held his breath for about thirty seconds. Jesse released it, but still didn't look any calmer. Lydia had to admit that she was nervous, too, but she didn't look anywhere near as bad as Jesse.

Jennie looked at her brother, then whispered in Lydia's ear, "Hey, you might want to let him go first, so he can get it over with."

"You don't have to tell me," Lydia whispered back. At that moment, they arrived at the Cianwood Gym, home of fighter Pokémon, and they all stared up at the gym and Lydia read the sign in front of it. "'Cianwood City Pokémon Gym, Leader Chuck. His roaring fists do the talking.'"

Lydia looked at her friends and Jesse took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "Let's get this over with," he said as he walked into the gym, the girls right behind him.

A number of trainers looked around at them as the entered and Lydia smiled brightly at them. "So who do we have to fight to win a badge around here?" she said with a smile.

One of the trainers looked around towards the battlefield. "Chuck!" he called. "You've got some challengers!" He looked towards Lydia, raised eyebrows as he surveyed her. "Little girls shouldn't be here, though. You should run while you still can."

"If she wants to take a beating, that's her business, Mark," a voice said from behind him. Mark jumped as a trainer who Lydia assumed was Chuck appeared. He looked more like a boxing champion than a trainer, she thought as he approached the three trainers. "Three of 'em, eh? And I assume all of you want a battle?"

"Just us two," Lydia said, indicating her and Jesse. "Jennie's just a spectator."

"I'm not just a spectator, I'm the breeder around here," Jennie said, folding her arms across her chest in indignation. Chuck chuckled as he led them out onto the battlefield.

"So . . . who wants to go first?"

"I'll go," Jesse said, forcing some bravery into his voice as he took his side of the field, handing his Pokédex to the referee, who entered it into the computer before handing it back to Jesse. Lydia and Jennie both joined the other trainers on the bleachers as Chuck took his own place.

"This battle between Jesse Turner of Alyson City and Leader Chuck of Cianwood City shall now begin!" the judge called. "Each trainer is allowed only one Pokémon. The battle will be over when either of the trainer's Pokémon is unable to battle."

Lydia stared at the judge, then towards Jennie accusingly. "'Two Pokémon each?'" she quoted Jennie's words from the previous day.

"Well, that's what I heard at the Centre," Jennie defended herself as the battle began. Chuck sent out a Primeape while Jesse hesitated, trying to make his decision.

"What do you think he's going to choose?" Jennie asked, looking towards Lydia curiously.

"Well, since it's one on one, I would choose Natu if I were him," Lydia said thoughtfully. "But since when has he ever taken our ideas?" However, Jesse surprised her when he sent out Natu. "I really need to stop thinking out loud."

"Let's turn up the heat," Chuck said. "Fire punch!" Natu flew into the air to avoid the attack, turning around in the air and taking a dive before Jesse had the chance to call out an attack. She started pecking Primeape all over his body, not giving any chance for a return attack.

Lydia chanced a glance towards Jesse and was relieved to see that he wasn't nervous any more.

Nope, just like every battle before this, the nervousness faded away the moment that he entered the battlefield. Lydia watched her best friend, awaiting what was going to happen. "Use Future Sight!" Jesse yelled and Natu's eyes glowered for a moment before it faded.

"What just happened?" Jennie whispered. "The attack didn't work!"

"Not yet," Lydia said with a grin. "Future Sight's a psychic attack that works a bit later. It's going to come, just not as soon as we expected."

"So she just sent an attack into the future?" Jennie said slowly, trying to understand what had happened.

"That's as good an explanation as anything," Lydia admitted, nodding as Primeape tried desperately to get in an attack, but with Natu flying high, there was no way that he could get into an attack position.

"Primeape, use Thunder!" Chuck called. Lydia's eyes widened as Primeape released an electric attack directly onto Natu, who couldn't get out of the way. Being a bird, Natu was vulnerable to electric attacks. Could she recover from that attack?

"I can't watch," Jennie groaned as she turned away from the battle, but she did so at the wrong time. Natu broke free from the thunder and at Jesse's command, released a powerful psychic attack that lit the entire room with its energy. "What's happening?"

"Jesse's winning," Lydia answered as Natu swooped down to deliver one last peck, but unfortunately for her, this was bad timing, because Primeape had recovered enough to deliver a thunderpunch, sending her reeling back. "Or not. I wasn't expecting thunder attacks from a fighting Pokémon."

Jennie frowned. "I don't think Primeape _can_ use electric attacks . . . not normally, anyway. They can only be learned from TM moves, you know like you did with Eevee and Iron Tail." Lydia nodded, remembering when she had used the TM on Eevee back in Goldenrod, right before the gym battle and her first battle with Alicia. "But he'd better do something fast."

"Hurry, Jess," Lydia whispered, her eyes fastened on the battle. "You've got to get away from those electric attacks. She can't take much more of them."

"Both of them look exhausted," Jennie noted, looking down at Primeape and then to the air at Natu.

"Strength!" Chuck shouted and Primeape launched himself into the air in order to attack Natu. But at that moment, the Future Sight kicked in and sent a powerful attack to Primeape, who was sent to the ground by the force of it, launching dust everywhere. By the time it cleared, Primeape was down for the count.

"Primeape is unable to battle!" the judge announced. "The winner of this match goes to Natu and Jesse Turner of Alyson City!"

Jesse looked relieved as Natu flew down to the ground, looking very pleased with herself as she landed on Jesse's arm. He stroked her as he headed up to the bleachers, letting Lydia take his place as she handed the judge her Pokédex and he entered her into the computer.

"This battle between Lydia Talon of Rosewaters Isle and Leader Chuck of Cianwood City will now begin!" the judge called. "The rules are the same as before, one Pokémon each with no time limit. The battle will be over when either trainer's Pokémon is unable to battle. Begin!"

"Poliwrath, let's make short work!" Chuck roared as he released the final evolution of Poliwag. Lydia's eyes widened as she saw the Pokémon.

_I was planning on using Poliwhirl, but do I dare use it against a water Pokémon that it's own evolution? No, I need something else . . . what do I need? _A thought crossed Lydia's mind and she grinned triumphantly as she pulled out a Pokéball out of her pocket. "I choose you, Chinchou!"

The water/electric Pokémon was released onto the stage and she could see Jesse and Jennie gawking at her in astonishment as she made her choice. "Lydia, are you crazy?" Jesse yelled at her. She shrugged as she turned her attention back to the battle. "You've never used Chinchou in battle!"

"Well, it's always good to get some practice, then, isn't it?" Lydia shot back before turning to Chuck. "You ready?"

Chuck grinned. "Sure are confident, aren't we, little girl? Well, so am I . . . confident you're going to lose! Body slam!"

"Dodge it!" Lydia called and Chinchou bounced away from the attack, turning around to face Poliwrath again. "Now, use water gun!" Chinchou released the attack, but she hadn't expected it to do much damage, just get Poliwrath off guard for a minute. "Quick, use spark!"

Chinchou squealed as she released the electric attack and Poliwrath was hit straight out before he shook it off, weakened by the electric attack, but still going.

"Double-slap!" Chuck called and Chinchou was slapped in the face about five times before Poliwrath finally released her.

_I'm starting to understand why they call them Poliwrath, _Lydia thought worriedly as Chinchou staggered backwards, rubbing the abused cheeks. _They got the wrath part right. _

"Chinchou, use supersonic!"

Releasing a piercing screech that caused everyone in vicinity, including Lydia, to cover their ears, Chinchou sent the attack towards Poliwrath, who was rendered confused and forced to stumble around the room, unable to think straight. "Now, use spark again!"

The electric attack hit a second time and this time, Poliwrath couldn't shake it off, being too confused to do anything else. Lydia gasped as the electric attack, plus Poliwrath trying to injure himself, caused him to knock himself out and he lay motionless on the floor.

"Poliwrath is unable to battle!" the judge called. "The winner of this match is Lydia Talon of Rosewaters Isle."

"Yes!" Lydia punched the air and ran to Chinchou, scooping her up. "You were awesome out there!" She hugged the water/electric Pokémon as Jesse climbed down from the bleachers, looking astonished at the outcome of the match. Lydia grinned at his dumbfounded expression. "So . . . you gonna question my sanity any longer?"

"Just your tactics," Jesse replied, shaking his head as Chuck recalled Poliwrath and approached them.

"The both of you did great today," he congratulated them. "And here's the Storm Badge, one for each of you. Nice job."

"Thank you, sir," Jesse said and he chuckled.

"Well, I'll be looking forward to seeing you both in the Silver Conference. Should be interesting."

Lydia beamed at Jesse, who grinned back. "Yeah, we'll be there," Lydia said cheerfully. "We both will."


	37. Umbreon's Family

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Thirty-seven: Umbreon's Family

The island was bright and cheerful as the three trainers were walking through the city, already chattering about their next gym battle, which was in Olivine City, just a ferry ride away. Jesse had already bought the tickets, so they would be on their way the next day, which left them plenty of time to do some sightseeing and barring interruptions, they would be on their way to Olivine the next day.

"Now that you've said that, Jess, we're bound to find some kind of interruption," Lydia groaned as they sat next to the ocean water.

"You're such a pessimist," Jesse groaned, sticking his tongue out at her. She did the mature thing and retaliated by scooping up some water and splashing him with it. "Hey!"

Jennie laughed as he splashed her back. "It's so nice that you two are so mature," she commented and got herself splashed in retribution. "Okay, that does it!" She jumped into the water, close the edge, so when she jumped, a huge spout of water gusted up and struck both Lydia and Jesse.

"Hey, watch it!" Lydia shrieked, scrambling away from the water's edge as Jennie re-emerged, throwing water up on top of them.

"Yeah, cut it out, Jen, your hair's getting soaked," Jesse retorted, leaning down to help her out of the water. She gave a tug and pulled him straight into the water headfirst.

Lydia giggled as she watched the siblings splashing each other with the water, but looked away as she heard shouting close by, turning around to see a Vaporeon racing towards them with an almost ecstatic look on her face with a boy, her trainer, in close pursuit.

"Hey, Vaporeon!" he yelled, trying to catch up with her. "Come on, what's gotten into you? Mom and Dad are gonna kill me if we don't get back soon! Come on, please?" But Vaporeon paid him no mind just as Umbreon let out a squeal of delight, practically attacking the water Pokémon as she reached them.

"Umbreon, what—" Lydia's mouth opened as the two Eevee evolutions greeted one another, affectionately hugging on another. She stared at her Pokémon before looking towards the other trainer, whose mouth was open in shock. "What's going on?"

"Not a clue," he said, shaking his head in bewilderment, looking towards the two. He crouched down to the two Pokémon's level and looked at his curiously. "Vaporeon, what's up? Do you know this Umbreon?"

Lydia looked towards the two, an idea forming in her head slowly. _It couldn't be . . . _she thought before looking towards the redhead trainer. "You don't happen to live here, do you?" she asked and he glanced up at her.

"Sure," he replied with a shrug. "I live on the other side of the island, with my mom and dad. Dad runs the local pharmacy. Why do you want to know?" he asked suspiciously.

"Umbreon said that he had family that lived on Cianwood," Lydia answered, looking towards her Pokémon carefully. "Where did you get your Vaporeon from?"

"From my parents," the redhead answered. "My mom's Espeon and my dad's Jolteon had two Eevee together and they gave me the younger of the two to raise. The other one disappeared one night and . . . was never seen again," he finished slowly, turning to look at Umbreon, his mouth open in surprise, his eyes wide with shock.

"Umbreon," Lydia said, crouching down to look at him. "Is this your sister?" The bark of affirmation from both of the Pokémon told Lydia that she was right on target.

The redhead looked astonished as he looked at Umbreon. "Well, what do you know?" he said, shaking his head. "I thought that you were a goner, boy. How've you been?" He reached down and scratched Umbreon affectionately. "Boy, you sure have grown. You're his trainer?" he asked, looking towards Lydia, who nodded.

"Yeah, I'm Lydia Talon," she said, holding out her hand and he shook it.

"Eric James, nice to meet you," he replied, grinning at her just as Jesse and Jennie emerged from the water, both of them soaking wet. Lydia shook her head in amusement.

"It's so nice that you two are so mature," she told them both. Jennie stuck her tongue out at her and Lydia grinned. Erik was hiding a smile behind his hand as Jesse rolled his eyes.

"Excuse us for having a little bit of fun," he retorted. "Besides, I had to get some revenge against my sister here." Lydia shook her head as he noticed Erik. "Who's this?"

"Oh, this is Erik James and Vaporeon," Lydia introduced them. "Erik, these are my friends Jesse and Jennie Turner." She looked at the siblings. "Vaporeon is apparently Umbreon's sister."

Jennie's mouth opened in surprise. "You're kidding!" she exclaimed, looking towards the two Pokémon, who were talking a mile a minute. "Oh, wow, that is amazing! What are the odds of that?" she said as she watched Vaporeon eagerly, admiring the shiny coat that the water Pokémon had. "Your Vaporeon is really beautiful."

"Thanks," Erik said, looking pleased. "You must be a breeder, right?" Jennie looked up at him surprise. "You can always tell around here. Most of the trainers who come here are either heading for the gym or wanting to check out my dad's pharmacy for the latest in Pokémon nutrition. He does lectures on them every day. Speaking of, one's starting in a couple hours," he added, glancing down at his watch. "I should get back, see if Dad needs any help. You guys want to come? I know it'd be interesting and I know Espeon and Jolteon would love to see Umbreon."

"Please can we go?" Jennie said eagerly to her brother, who exchanged a look with Lydia, who chuckled as she nodded. "Yes! Come on, let's hurry up, I want to get a good seat!" She practically was jumping in the air as she scooted off back towards the city. Erik, Lydia, and Jesse all exchanged amused looks as they followed her, Umbreon and Vaporeon right behind them, talking a mile a minute.

--

They made good timing to the pharmacy; Erik had to go help his dad during the lecture, leaving the trio to get good seats and listen to Mr. James' talk about proper Pokémon care. Lydia was surprised that they were able to get seats, considering how full it got in the pharmacy before the lecture started. Even some of the older trainers had gathered in to listen.

It was actually pretty interesting; he went into detail on what kinds of foods were good and bad for each different types of Pokémon and what different kinds of food to mix together. Lydia listened carefully while Jennie jotted down everything she could for future references. When it was finally over, she scurried around the store to pick up various items that had been recommended by Mr. James while Erik headed towards them.

"So, what did you think?" he asked them. "Not a bad turn out. Dad's been getting more visitors than usual during his lectures. Your sister seemed to enjoy it," he added with a smirk as Jennie continued to pick up some items.

"She'll enjoy anything that has to do with breeding," Lydia answered as a pleasant woman headed over to them, smiling at Erik. Due to the resemblance between them, Lydia guessed that this had to be his mother.

"Erik, darling, have you made some new friends?" she asked, smiling towards Lydia and Jesse. "How do you do? I'm Marion James. I hope you enjoyed my husband's lecture?"

"It was very fascinating, ma'am," Lydia answered with a smile. Marion looked happy as Umbreon jumped up at her heels and she stared down at the dark Pokémon in astonishment.

"My word, it can't be," she whispered, sinking down onto the ground to peer down at Umbreon. "Can it?" She looked towards her son, who nodded, grinning wildly.

"Yeah, Mom, that's the Eevee that we lost a couple years ago," he explained. "And this is his trainer Lydia Talon and her friend Jesse Turner."

"Oh, Espeon is going to be thrilled when she learns about this," Marion said excitedly. "Come along, I'll take you out back."

She led the group out of the store. Jennie declined, as she was still picking stuff up. Stuff that she probably didn't need and would be loaded down later by. But Lydia didn't tell her that; that was her business. Instead, she followed Mrs. James out into the backyard, where there were a few Pokémon lounging about, an Espeon and a Jolteon among them.

Umbreon gave a bark and Lydia knew in that instant that they were his parents as he ran up to them, greeting them affectionately. Espeon was nearly in tears as she hugged her son and Jolteon wrapped a paw around Umbreon and his mate before their daughter joined in the embrace.

Lydia smiled as she watched the scene, her own tears starting to blur her vision. "I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful sight," she whispered. Jesse grinned as he wrapped an arm around her.

"Yeah, it's pretty amazing," he agreed.

"I haven't seen Espeon this happy since before little Eevee was taken," Mrs. James sighed, placing a hand to her heart as she sat down on the bench. "It was such a terrible time for her, for all of us. And Eevee was so little . . . just a baby . . . how ever did you find him?"

She hadn't wanted to tell Mrs. James about the pain and anguish that Umbreon had gone through before he'd met her, but everything came pouring out anyway. Mrs. James simply listened as Lydia recounted everything that had happened with Umbreon ever since they had teamed up together, but to her surprise, she patted Lydia on the arm.

"It seems to me that you needed Umbreon just as much as he needed you," she said softly. "I'm so glad that he found such a kind and compassionate trainer. But it's good to see him again."

Biting her lip, Lydia looked towards Umbreon, a pain searing through her heart as she watched the dark Pokémon, so happy and delighted to be reunited with his family. And they were equally delighted. "Yeah," she agreed softly, "he does seem happy."

Jesse seemed to read her expression and know what was going on inside of her head. "Don't even go there, Lydia," he said, shaking his head. "Umbreon might be happy to see his family, but you're the one he wants to be with. Don't even do it."

"Do what?" Mrs. James looked confused, then realisation crossed her face and she smiled. "Oh, dear, you don't think that Umbreon would rather be here than with you, do you? Lydia, I can honestly say that after everything that you two have been through, it's unlikely that he would let you even consider leaving without him."

"But he's so happy here," Lydia protested. Mrs. James nodded, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Of course he is," she agreed. "But he's happy with you too. Can't you see that the two of you share a bond that isn't easily extinguished? I remember all too well how strong the bond between a trainer and her first Pokémon is. It was that way with Espeon and myself." She smiled towards the psychic Pokémon as she was reunited with her son. "And even though she's missed her son very much, Espeon knows that his place is with you now."

_"So long as you take care of him, Lydia Talon," _Espeon's voice echoed in her head and she looked towards Espeon to see her purple eyes focused on the brunette trainer. She nodded grimly.

_"I will," _she assured Espeon. _"I promise."_

Mrs. James insisted on them staying for dinner so that Umbreon could be reacquainted with his family. Erik was eager to talk to them about the Johto League, which he would be entering in when the tournament approached. He had gone back home for serious training after he'd gotten his eighth badge. "So maybe I'll see you guys at the Silver Conference," he said.

"It'll be nice to battle against an old friend," Lydia said with a grin. "Just don't expect me to go easy on you just because we're friends."

"Wouldn't expect anything less," Erik said, grinning back. "Just promise to fight your hardest and I won't think anything less of you when you lose." She snorted, but didn't retaliate as they, unsuccessfully, tried to help Mrs. James clean up the kitchen, but she ordered them out.

"I won't have my guests helping out," she insisted. "Now, go enjoy the last few hours of sunlight. Besides, I'm sure that you have to get back to the Pokémon Centre before curfew." Lydia nodded; curfew was at eleven o'clock and was on the other side of the island. They had to leave by at least nine if they wanted to get there before it was closed.

After they'd played with Umbreon's family for awhile, Lydia and her friends eventually headed back to the Centre, promising the James' that they would come and say goodbye the next day before they left.


	38. In the Midst of a Storm

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Thirty-eight: In the Midst of a Storm

It was early the next morning when Lydia climbed out of bed to go head into the shower, glancing towards the clock before she did so. It was seven in the morning and their tickets back to the mainland weren't until eleven o'clock, so they had plenty of time to go see the James' before they headed to the docks. Assuming that Jesse didn't take an hour or so to get out of bed, she thought with a humourless smile.

However, she was met with a surprise when she found Jesse out of bed and dressed by the time that she got out of the bathroom. "Is the world coming to an end?" she joked. Jesse made a face at her as he threw one of his dirty socks towards her. She ducked to avoid it. "Where's Jennie?"

"She headed down to the lobby about a half hour ago, right after you got up." Jesse grinned as he picked up his bag. "Come on, we've got to get to the docks before the ship leaves."

"Don't forget that we promised Erik and his parents we'd stop by before we left the island."

A look crossed Jesse's face that passed by so fast that Lydia half-thought that she imagined it. "Right," he mumbled, trudging out of the room.

Lydia frowned as she watched her best friend leave before turning to look at Umbreon curiously. "What's with him?" she wondered as she sat down next to Umbreon, petting him affectionately before they headed down to the lobby.

It didn't take them long to retrieve their Pokémon that they'd left with Nurse Joy for treatment and head out of the Centre, walking briskly towards the James residence. Erik was training out in the back with Vaporeon and a Bayleaf when they approached.

"Hey, guys!" he greeted them. Vaporeon stopped in mid-battle to go and greet her brother. Lydia smiled at the pair before she walked over to Erik. "You guys are headed to Olivine, right?"

"Yeah, the gym leader was out of town when we passed through there before," Jesse said, shoving his hands into his pockets, looking sour. "Shouldn't be any problem, though."

"That's what I said," Erik said wryly. "Before I found out in the middle of a battle that she's got a Steelix."

Lydia looked at him interestedly. "Really? A Steelix?" she asked, remembering what she'd read about the evolved form of Onix. "Never seen one of those before."

"Yeah, me neither until I battled Jasmine. Believe me, I wasn't looking forward to getting a beating from her. Want a piece of advice, you should try getting that Steelix nice and hot, if you catch my meaning."

"Fire Pokémon?" Lydia guessed.

"That Cyndaquil of yours should help nicely." Erik grinned before glancing towards their two Pokémon. Espeon and Jolteon had come out by this time, followed by their respective trainers. "Jess, you got any fire Pokémon that'll be able to help you out?"

Jesse looked taken aback, but he shook his head. "No. Ivysaur, Haunter, Natu, Totodile, and a Syther," he replied.

Erik winced slightly. "Man, that's gonna be rough, because fires are really good against a steel type like Steelix. But I'm sure that you'll figure it out. Because if you don't, then you're going to have to listen to me rag on you when you see me at the Silver Conference."

Lydia looked at Jennie in amusement when the two boys started firing on one another about how they were going to beat the other one. "Thanks for everything last night, Mrs. James," she said, smiling at the woman.

"It was no more than you have done for Umbreon," Mrs. James said, coming over and hugging the brunette trainer with a smile back. "Take care of yourself, Lydia."

"I will."

She let Umbreon have a tearful goodbye with his family before they had to finally leave the James home behind, waving goodbye as they walked away, heading towards where the docks were. Umbreon kept looking behind as they left, his red eyes longing.

"Don't worry, Umbreon," Lydia assured him with a smile. "You're going to see them again soon. Remember, Erik said he's going to the Silver Conference, same as us. So providing that we get the remaining badges that we need, we're going to see them there."

This thought obviously cheered Umbreon up, because he immediately started barking happily and the group hurried ahead to the docks, where they would be docking to head towards Olivine City and their next gym battles.

Lydia smiled as she walked around on the ship, watching as some of the trainers that were on board were busy training or battling with one another. And for once, it seemed that there was no sign of Alicia.

And she was relieved to see that. That girl had been nothing but trouble since they had first laid eyes on each other leaving from Rosewaters Isle and even though Lydia was feeling sorry for her because of her upbringing, she was not sorry to find the ship lacking in the Alicia Knightly department.

The day was bright and beautiful as they sailed underneath the cloudless sky, the two older trainers looking forward to their next match at the Olivine Gym while Jennie was continuing to read through the books that she'd gotten at the James' pharmacy.

". . . steel types do have some weaknesses against water types, so Totodile might be a good bet against Jasmine," Jesse was saying to Lydia just as a shadow passed over them and Lydia shielded her eyes to see who was standing next to them.

"Can I help you?" she asked the redheaded girl that was looking down at them carefully.

"Are you Lydia Talon?" she asked briskly, not bothering with introductions. She cast a glance at Jesse, who shrugged carelessly as he looked towards the newcomer.

"Depends on who's asking," she replied smoothly as Jennie glanced over at them from where she was sitting, relaxing.

"Oh, sorry, so rude of me. I'm used to everyone knowing who I am. The name's Patty Harrison." She raised her eyebrows at Jesse and Lydia's blank looks. "One of the finalists in the Hoenn League last year?" she added, as if trying to prod their memories. "Never heard of me, huh?" She sounded a bit disappointed.

"Sorry."

Patty looked severely disappointed, but she overlooked it. "No matter, I was just working my way through the Johto region and heard at the Cianwood that if I was looking for a good battle, then I should talk to you. Said you dealt out some pretty serious stuff for a newbie." She grinned. "Would you mind having a battle with me?"

"What . . . here? Now?" Lydia stared at her incredulously, hardly able to believe it. Most of the trainers here were giving their Pokémon a bit of a break after their matches at Cianwood. She'd seen a few of them battling, of course, but none of them had approached any of them as of yet.

"Sure. Why not?" Patty shrugged. "So what do you say? You interested?" she asked, watching as Lydia looked at Jesse.

"Wanna watch?" she asked and he nodded, standing up. "Jennie, you coming?"

"No, thanks," the blonde breeder said without looking up from her book. "I'm going to stay here and enjoy the sun a bit more. It's been far too long since we've had a chance to relax and I'm going to enjoy every second of it that I can."

"Crazy girl," Jesse mumbled as they walked away with Patty. "Sometimes I wonder how we're supposed to be related. I don't understand her at all sometimes."

"She's a woman, Jess," Lydia said calmly. "You're not supposed to understand us." Patty burst out laughing at the look on Jesse's face. After a moment, Lydia joined in and it took several minutes for both of them to regain their composure as they entered the battle arena on the ship.

"Glad to be the source of amusement," Jesse muttered darkly as they took their places on the arena. "I'll judge, all right?"

"Fine with me," Patty agreed, "so long as you don't play favourites with your girlfriend there." This particular comment caused both Lydia and Jesse to turn an interesting shade of red before both of them started sputtering objections to this accusation. "Relax, I was just joking," she said, laughing, but Lydia could feel her cheeks burning.

"Tasteful joke," Lydia grumbled. "How's three on three? That all right with you?"

"Sounds good," Patty agreed as she pulled out a Pokéball and threw it out into the air. "Gloom, time for a battle!" She released the grass-type Pokémon onto the arena.

Lydia smiled as she released her own Pokémon. "Cyndaquil, time to get in some practice!" she announced as the fire Pokémon appeared on the arena, looking at her opponent.

"Begin!" Jesse yelled once both Pokémon were on the arena and ready to battle. And with their trainers' command, both Pokémon began to charge onto one another.

--

"How'd it go?" Jennie asked when they turned up more than an hour later. She was still in the same position that she'd been in when they left, though she'd gotten much further along in her book.

"Tied," Lydia said with a grin. It had been fun to just battle another trainer without having to worry about losing the battle and the badge. Too long had gone by without doing that, she thought with a smile as she sat in the chair, blinking up at the sky, frowning slightly. "Hey, guys? Is it just me or has the sky gotten a lot darker since we left?"

Jennie and Jesse both looked up at the sky when she mentioned that. Instead of the bright, cloudless sky that they'd left Jennie with, the day had grown cloudy and dark. Stormy clouds roamed overhead, threatening to drown the trainers in its wrath.

"Storm's coming," Jesse observed. "Weather can change just like that in the middle of the ocean here. Come on, let's get inside before it starts pouring. Come on, Jen," he said when his sister protested, half-dragging her through the ship to the cafeteria, where most of the trainers had gathered to avoid the storm passing overhead. Lydia, smiling at their antics, followed them.

With nothing else to do to pass the time, they had an early dinner and talked about the battle with Patty while the cafeteria started getting fuller and fuller. The storm had to be even worse than she'd originally presumed, Lydia thought as she stood up to go talk to one of the sailors.

"The waves keep knocking the ship off course," he explained to Lydia when she asked. "The captain's trying to get her back where we're supposed to be, but it's gonna take a little bit before we're able to steer to Olivine. Nobody's to leave the dining hall until we're able to."

Lydia bit her lip in worry as she headed back to her friends, telling them what she'd learned. Jennie's green eyes were wide by the time that she'd finished. "So . . . how long before the storm's over?" she wanted to know, her voice soft and fearful.

"They don't know," Lydia replied, glancing towards the door, where lightning flashed and thunder rumbled threateningly towards them. A small gasp escaped from her and she wished they were on shore. Even though she'd lived on an island for her entire childhood, she didn't like the fact that they were on a boat in the middle of the ocean with no way to get off in the middle of a storm wasn't exactly a comforting thought. Jesse squeezed her hand reassuringly as another wave rocked by the boat, causing a few trainers nearby to scream just as the lights went out.

Lydia couldn't see anything in the pitch black of the dining hall, so she slipped her hand inside of her jacket pocket, retrieving her Pokéball as Umbreon curled up onto her lap. Cyndaquil appeared next to them, the flame on her back causing just enough light for them to see by.

"Good idea, Lydia!" Jesse congratulated her. "Hope you don't mind be a lantern for a little while," he teased the fire Pokémon as she joined Umbreon on Lydia's lap. Cyndaquil didn't seem to mind, however, and kept her flame lit so they could see.

A few other people had hopped on Lydia's thinking train and released a few other fire Pokémon, lighting up the room. With the dining hall lit, Lydia leaned her head on Jesse's shoulder. Judging from his expression, he didn't seem to mind at all as they waited for the storm to pass them over and they could be on their way to Olivine.


	39. An Old Friend

**An Age of Valour**

by the Lady of the Mists

Chapter Thirty-nine: An Old Friend

Lydia must have drifted off at some point, because the next thing that she knew, she was being shaken awake by one of the sailors as they were pulling into Olivine, the storm having passed and they had resumed their rightful course.

"Why so early?" Jesse groaned as he rubbed his eyelids, getting to his feet unsteadily. Lydia sat up, Jesse's jacket falling off of her as she stretched and she blinked.

"Uh . . . here's your jacket," she said, embarrassed. Jesse was flushing slightly as he took his jacket. Jennie rolled her eyes, getting to her feet while Lydia recalled Cyndaquil, patting Umbreon on his head as she stood up. "So, did everyone have as good a sleep last night as I did?"

"You two seemed to be pretty comfortable last night," Jennie said innocently, causing both of the older trainers to turn to glare at her. She smiled, giving them both her big, green innocent look before heading towards the dock. "Come on, we should get to the Pokémon Centre and get the Pokémon checked out. I think Smoochum got a little seasick," she said affectionately as she scampered off.

"Remind me to strangle her later," Jesse said darkly, shaking his dark hair out of his eyes.

"Yeah, I'll help you."

As she followed Jennie out of the cafeteria, hoisting her bag higher onto her shoulders as she did so, Lydia tried to make herself look presentable as much as possible, straightening her rumpled jeans and shirt and brushing her fingers through her hair.

"Lydia, stop," Jesse said, catching her hair. "You're just going to make it worse than usual." She stuck her tongue out at him and he smiled, leaning closer to her. "I think you look lovely."

She flushed at the comment, but looked down. "If you say so," she muttered, zipping up her jacket so that nobody would see her wrinkled outfit. "So, what do you think? We should head straight over to the gym or give the Pokémon a day to recover from the excitement?"

"Excitement implies something good happening, Lydia. Last I checked, we were thrown around on a ship during a storm and had our heads bashed into multiple times during the night." He rolled his eyes. "And I think _I _was the one who got seasick last night," he muttered, looking pale.

"So in other words, you're opting to go to the Centre first and recuperate?" Lydia guessed. Jesse shrugged and nodded as they joined the long line of people that were in a mad dash to get off of the ship. "Which Pokémon _are_ you going to use in the next battle? If fire types are good against steel types . . . maybe we should go try and track down a fire type?"

"Do you realise how rare a find a fire type is?" Jesse asked, sounding exasperated. "Finding a fire type is like looking for a needle in a haystack. No, I'll just make do with Totodile. Maybe used Gastly as a back-up."

"Have you even ever used Totodile in a battle?" Lydia wanted to know, her forehead creasing, trying to remember.

"Of course I have! I used her back at Goldenrod, remember?" Lydia nodded, remembering now. "Plus, I have used her when I've been battling trainers on the road. She even won against Cubone that one time when we were doing some training, remember?"

"Okay, okay, you win! I just think maybe we should get you a fire type, because you never know when one of those are gonna come in handy," she pointed out.

Jesse considered this and nodded. "All right, but where are we going to find one around here? It's not like there's going to be one falling out of the sky and land right in front of us—"

As they were headed towards the Pokémon Centre, they heard yelling and Lydia turned around for the source of it, her eyes narrowing when she saw a redheaded trainer shouting at his Growlithe. The Pokémon in question was cowering underneath the trainer's words, trying to make herself as small as she could.

"I take you in, I train you, and for what? So you could make me look bad in front of gym leaders? It's bad enough that I had to lose at Goldenrod because you couldn't take a beating, but against steel types, which you know very well you're strong against? I'm not going to take that."

Lydia looked at Jesse, whose eyes had narrowed in extreme dislike. What was it with cruel trainers lately? she wondered. It seemed that they had come across more bad ones than they had good ones.

"Well, I've had enough of this," the redhead snapped. "You won't win battles for me, then I see no reason to continue taking care of you. Let's see how well you do on your own."

He held up a Pokéball, which released a blue glow over Growlithe, who backed away from the light as it released her. Without another word, the trainer walked away from the fire Pokémon, heading away from her and walking down the road.

"Poor little girl," Jennie whispered. Lydia wrapped an arm around the younger girl as Jesse, his eyes softened as he looked at the abandoned Pokémon, walked forward towards Growlithe, who gave a soft growl as he was approached.

"Hey there, big girl," Jesse said in a friendly tone. He patted the Growlithe on the head. "How are you doing, huh? Are you hungry? Why don't you come with us down to the Pokémon Centre and we'll get something to eat. I'm Jesse, this is my sister Jennie, and my friend Lydia."

"Hi, Growlithe," Lydia said with a smile, but let Jesse do his thing. Even though Scyther still wasn't listening to him, she had a feeling that Growlithe was going to be a nice addition to his team, if he wanted to come, because ultimately, she knew Jesse was going to let Growlithe make his own choice. "Come on with us. I'll bet you're hungry."

"And you won't find me betting against _you_," Jennie said dryly. Lydia stepped on her feet, causing her to wince, but otherwise ignored her comment, watching Jesse and Growlithe carefully.

Growlithe hesitated, glancing back towards where her former trainer had disappeared to, but seemed to realise that the redhead wasn't going to come back. With a sad, mournful bark, she fell into step next to Jesse as he stood up, rejoining the girls as they headed towards the Centre.

Once they were inside, they let Growlithe go off with their Pokémon so they could get acquainted and Nurse Joy could take care of any injuries that might've been sustained while the trainers went over to the cafeteria so they could get the first food they'd had since the awful lunch on the ship, which wasn't really that nutritional.

Lydia ate her breakfast quietly before she looked around at Jesse, who looked deep in thought. "What's wrong, Jesse?" she asked him. "You look like you got the weight of the world on you shoulders?"

"It's just that Growlithe," Jesse said softly. "It just . . . hits a little bit too close to home, that's all." Jennie was staring determinedly at her plate, not looking up as Jesse pushed his chair back. "I'm gonna go check on the Pokémon. I'll see you two later." He shuffled out of the cafeteria and Lydia turned to look at Jennie.

"Okay, missy, what was that all about?" she wanted to know.

"Nothing!" Jennie said, almost a little too quickly.

"Yeah, and Alicia's actually my sister," Lydia said darkly. "Come on, what's really going on?"

Jennie sighed, leaning her head back. "Jess's gonna kill me when he finds out I told you," she complained. "All right, you know the whole story about how Mom and Dad split up years ago and Mom tried to ship us off to one of those Pokémon Academies?" she asked. Lydia nodded. "Well, what you don't know is that Jesse had a Growlithe. It was the first Pokémon that he ever caught. And he loved that little girl. But our great-uncle thought that he was too weak and said that Jesse could do better. Jesse didn't want to let Growlithe go, tried to keep him as hard as he could, but when Great-uncle Albert has his mind made up on something, there's little you can do to stop him.

"Anyway, Uncle Albert decided that the best way to teach Jesse that he would obey his rules or suffer the consequences was to watch Growlithe suffer. He had his Blastoise use Whirlpool on Growlithe." Lydia's eyes were wide as she said that.

"And fire Pokémon are weak against water attacks," she said softly, horror running through her. "Poor Jesse. Poor Growlithe. Did he . . .?" Lydia stopped, unable to finish.

"Growlithe survived, barely," Jennie said miserably as she ran her fingers through her blonde hair. "But that was enough for Jesse. As much as he loved Growlithe, he wouldn't take the chance that next time, Uncle Albert might succeed. So he took Growlithe out to Viridian Forest and released her. She's probably still there."

"What is wrong with people?" Lydia whispered, pounding her fist on the table and causing a few people to stare. "Are people so filled with anger that they have to take it out on the weak and helpless?" She blinked back tears of rage before a thought occurred to her. "And how long after this did Jesse leave the Academy?"

"About a week later," Jennie said softly. "He knew that Mom and Uncle Albert would try and track him down, so he didn't dare go after Growlithe. He loved that little girl too much to risk it."

"That explains a lot," Lydia sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "Like why he was so determined not to go back to your mother's and so against Academy training." She shook her head.

"Do you think he'll keep this Growlithe?" Jennie asked, glancing towards the door.

"I think there's a pretty good chance," Lydia answered. Something about Jennie's story tipped her psyche. She didn't know what it was, she didn't know how or why, but she had the feeling that there was more connecting this Growlithe to Jesse's than any of them knew.

As they finished up their meals, Lydia went with Jennie to where their Pokémon were. Jesse was sitting on the floor, just watching the Growlithe carefully, an odd pain in his eyes.

"You told her, didn't you?" he said without even looking up. Jennie made a face, but gave Lydia an exasperated sigh. "Don't worry, I was pretty much banking on you to."

"Jesse," Lydia said softly, moving over to sit down next to him. "It's not your fault. You did everything right."

"I abandoned my Pokémon," Jesse said sharply.

"You saved her," Lydia said gently. "You saved her by loving her enough to give her up. Jesse, there was nothing else that you could have done. You didn't leave her because you were angry with her or she was too weak, you left her because your uncle would've killed her otherwise." She turned his green gaze towards her. "This is _not_ your fault."

"She's right, Jess," Jennie said pleadingly. "You were trying save her life, not feed her to the wolves."

"I just . . . I wish I could see her again, you know? Even if was just one last time. Tell her that I'm sorry and that I love her and that I hope she can forgive me."

Lydia sighed, noticing for the first time that Growlithe was cocking her head at Jesse's words as if testing his voice.

With a quick glance at Jesse, Lydia gently prodded Growlithe's mind, entering silently into her mind. At first, all she saw were images of the angry trainer they had seen her with before she journeyed back, further into the past. And she saw Viridian Forest, where the redhead had captured her. She had been left there, by her first trainer, to save her from his cruel uncle. Lydia caught a glimpse of a younger Jesse before she was pulled from Growlithe's memories.

"Just one last time, huh, Jess?" Lydia asked quietly, slightly shaken. "I think you're gonna have a lot more than that." Jesse looked up at her, confused. "Look at her, Jesse. Does she look familiar to you?"

Jennie gave her a curious look and Lydia shot a half-smile at her before the blonde trainer's eyes widened in understanding. "The scar, Jess," she said, looking at her brother. "The one Uncle Albert gave her on her back. Look, you can see it right there." She pointed as Jesse scrambled to his feet, his green eyes wide with disbelief as he walked over to Growlithe, parting her fur to see the scar. She whined with displeasure, but Jesse just stared at it before looking at her in joy.

"Growlithe?" he whispered and she cocked her head before giving a sharp bark, inhaling his scent before barking with pleasure and happiness. "Growlithe!"

She barked again as he wrapped his arms around the Pokémon, burying his face into her fur as tears leaked out of his eyes as he whispered soft assurances and apologises and promised never to abandon her again.


End file.
